This review was funded by UNICEF and developed in close co‑operation with UNICEF’s Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia and UNICEF’s Albania Country Office, whose staff provided valuable guidance and support throughout. In particular, the review team would like to thank Parmosivea Soobrayan, Regional Education Advisor for Europe and Central Asia, for his co‑operation and commitment to the partnership between the OECD and UNICEF. The review team would like to convey its sincere appreciation to the UNICEF Albania Country Office, led by Roberto de Bernardi, Representative. We would also like to thank the UNICEF Albania education team, notably Linda Bushati, Early Learning Education Specialist, and Ermelinda Ikonomi, Consultant, for their guidance, support and insights.
The review team would further like to thank the Government of Albania, under the leadership of the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth, for its support and contributions to the review. The review has strongly benefitted from the encouragement and support of Zamira Gjini, General Director of the General Directorate for Policies and Development of Education, who also chaired the Steering Committee.
We are very grateful to the officials and education experts from the ministry and beyond, who graciously shared their insights and knowledge with us, in particular the members of the Steering Committee: Gerti Janaqi, General Director of the Agency for Quality Assurance in Pre‑University Education; Rezana Vrapi, General Director of the Education Services Centre; and Shqiponja Lamce, Specialist, Directorate for the Development of Education Programmes. We would also like to thank Agim Alia from the Education Services Centre and Antoneta Rama and Dorina Rapti from the Agency for Quality Assurance in Pre‑University Education for their valuable contributions to the review.
We sincerely thank all the participants in the review visits, including officials from the ministry and its agencies – the Education Services Centre, the Agency for Quality Assurance in Pre‑University Education, and the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education. We would also like to extend our gratitude to other national bodies, such as the Institute of Statistics (INSTAT), the National Agency for Education, Vocational Training and Qualifications, and the National Agency for Scientific Research and Innovation, to regional and local education offices and to civil society organisations, as well as to international bodies including the European Union delegation. We are grateful to the researchers, non‑governmental organisations, school leaders, teachers, teachers’ unions, parents and students who kindly gave their time to share their views, experience and knowledge with us. We would especially like to thank the schools in Tirana and Vore for welcoming us so warmly during our review visits.
The OECD review team was led by Elizabeth Fordham (OECD Secretariat), co‑ordinated by Soumaya Maghnouj (OECD Secretariat) and included Caitlyn Guthrie (OECD Secretariat), Kirsteen Henderson (external expert, Canada) and Daniel Trujillo (OECD Secretariat). We would like to thank George Bethell (Director of Anglia Assessment), who provided valuable input and advice. Within the OECD Secretariat, we would also like to thank Anna Vitória Périco e Santos who made very helpful contributions to the report. The review team is grateful for the support and advice from Andreas Schleicher, Director for Education and Skills, and Paulo Santiago, Head of Policy Advice and Implementation Division. Sara Gouveia provided administrative support and organised the publication process and Rachel Linden helped to prepare the draft for publication.