Government removes pay rise for postgraduats
16/08/2011 08:45
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Without comments or argumentations, the Albanian government published a
decision that removes the pay rise for the administration employees with
master degrees, a policy that this government started in 2007 with
pomposity for the project of “Returning the Brain” and inciting
postgraduate studies in Albania.
“The pay rise for the qualifications is 0”, says the government meeting that was published yesterday.
The government set in 2007 a pay rise of 25.000 ALL for titles “Associated Professor” who worked as public advisers or employees. For the title “scientific doctor” the government assigned a pay rise of 20.000 ALL, while for PHD titles the pay rise was 25.000. For most of the state employees, this decision will reduce the payment with an average of 20%.
Postgraduate studies in vain
According to “Shqip” newspaper, a great number of Albanians rushed to register in public and private universities for postgraduate studies, with the perspective of a higher payment. All their efforts went in vain. The wage increase of 10.000 ALL for those who had postgraduate studies within the country and an average of 20.000 ALL for those who had studied abroad were removed.
The diplomas, especially those that have been given by domestic private universities now have become useless papers, similar to the certificates that were released by Ponzi schemes in exchange of high-interest benefits.
Post graduation industry
Right after the Albanian government decided to issue a pay rise of 10.000 for postgraduates, this title became the most important element of the Private Universities industry, who graduated almost 21.000 students during 2010. Only in 2009, 8300 Albanian people finished postgraduate studies, according to the Institution of Statistics.
The budget cost for the postgraduate payments increased with millions of euros each year, and could have been doubled until it would become affordable.
The Albanians’ hunger for master degrees is closely connected with the government decision of 2007 for the pay raise according postgraduate titles. State employees saw it easy to invest 200.000 ALL per year for their postgraduate studies, since it would be recuperated from the pay increase. Conspiracy theories say that the government offered bonuses for post graduated employees, in order to fill the private universities that this government itself had licensed.
In Albania there are currently 28 private universities, one of which is licensed for graduate and postgraduate titles in hairdressing. One of these universities is on sale at the yellow-page newspaper ‘Çelësi”.
More than 21.000 students who paid from 1000 to 3000 EUR per academic years generated around 20 to 40 million EUR in private universities per year. A big part of this revenue was paid by the pay rise of the new post graduates.
The Ministry of Finances tried to place charge these universities with VAT, but then gave up.
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