Albanian medical students protest law designed to stop them from emigrating

Albanian medical students protested outside parliament on Thursday after the passage of a controversial law aimed at stopping the mass emigration of doctors and nurses, which is causing severe shortages in the country’s ailing hospital network.

Albania has the lowest number of doctors and nurses per capita in Europe, data from 2020 shows.

In 2019, 18% of qualified medical staff worked abroad, of which 765 Albanian doctors were working in Germany – a 21% increase from the year before. The total number of doctors believed to have left is estimated at 3,000.

As for nurses, it is unknown how many have left, but there are at least 8,000 unemployed, according to the Order of Nurses, many of which dream of working in the EU.

To combat the crisis, the government tabled a law that would see medical students work for up to five years in the country after finishing their studies and before being allowed to move abroad. Those who disagree will be required to pay the full cost of their studies, an amount not specified in the draft law. But students who sign will also benefit from social initiatives to help them get on the local property ladder.

“The provisions conveyed through this draft law have been drawn up in accordance with the needs dictated in the country for the fulfilment of this public interest,” the note accompanying the draft law states.

The law was approved by parliament and is expected to be enforced before the start of the new academic year in the autumn.

But a number of students were not happy with the news and descended upon parliament, where the law was being debated. They said they would not stop the protests until the government withdrew the bill, and they demanded answers from MPs who voted in favour of the law as they left the session.

“We will stay here and question everyone why you voted for the bill. We will stay here, and why we are in exam season. We will take the books and study here. We will leave a certain deadline and wait until they give us an answer. If we don’t have an answer, we will consult each other and escalate our steps”, declared a student.

Another student said, “We will boycott; we will not enter the school in October without the decision being withdrawn. We will stay here at night if necessary.”

The government, however, remains firm that the law is required.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Edi Rama said that it is necessary to stop the flow of professionals leaving the country, particularly as most of them head to Germany.

“But we cannot finance the German health service…We cannot accept that a medical student pays 1/16 of the cost of study with the government paying the rest…and then the student gets the diploma and goes to Germany or elsewhere,” he said.

Currently, Albanian university tuition fees are heavily subsidised and covered by the state.

Albania is plagued by migration woes, with at least 1.4 million people leaving since the end of communism in 1991. Out of the current population of 2.7 million, at least half want to leave for Europe, the US or Canada.

(Alice Taylor | Exit.al)