Medical students in Albania are protesting against a new law that forces them to work in the public service
medical students in Albania They threaten to boycott the new school year. protest against The law that obliges doctors Work on Public Health Service Albany for five years after graduation. The legislation was passed on Friday by parliament.
Students say this law is “unfair and unconstitutional, and violates human rights,” but Albania’s education minister disagrees: “The law is not unconstitutional. The law gives them the opportunity to choose,” says Ives Koçi.
Students are given two options: sign a contract with the state or pay the full tuition fee.
One or the other option will be assumed in an agreement with the Medical University of Tirana – the only public institution in Albania that teaches the specialty – to be signed before the start of the next academic year.
Doctors’ brain drain is the main reason behind the government’s decision.
More than three thousand doctors have left Albania in the past decade. Data from the Association of Albanian Physicians in Europe calling for a different strategy to retain professionals in the country.
In Albania, there are 1.93 doctors per 1,000 inhabitants, which is a low number compared to other countries in the Balkans (2.6) and the richer western countries (3.6).
In an effort to stop the exit of health professionals, the government raised their salaries last April, raising the salary of a general practitioner to about 1,300 euros and that of a nurse to about 850 euros per month. The average salary in Albania is around 550 Euros.
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