Albania

Les travaux dans le domaine de l’éducation, retenus comme l’une des priorités du Pacte de stabilité, sont un volet essentiel pour former le capital humain et promouvoir la paix et les valeurs démocratiques.  Il a été demandé à l’OCDE d’assurer la coordination des activités du Groupe spécial sur l’éducation et la jeunesse dans le domaine de la politique générale de l’éducation et de la transformation des systèmes éducatifs et de réaliser des examens thématiques des politiques nationales d’éducation dans les pays de cette région.  Ce projet a abouti à l’établissement de rapports sur chacun des pays et à une synthèse régionale qui offrent une analyse des systèmes éducatifs, des problèmes en jeu et des obstacles à la réforme.  Ils présentent des recommandations, utiles aux décideurs publics nationaux, qui devraient permettre aux pays et organismes partenaires du Pacte de stabilité de mieux cibler l’aide régionale afin de faciliter l’intégration européenne des pays de l’Europe du Sud-Est.  Cette étude s'inscrit dans le cadre des relations de coopération que l'OCDE entretient avec les économies non membres de diverses régions du monde.

Educational work is a key element for both human capital formation and the promotion of peace and democratic values. It has therefore been identified as one of the priorities of the Stability Pact. The OECD was asked to be Co-ordinator for “General Education Policy and System Change” within the Education and Youth Task Force, and to carry out “Thematic Reviews of Education Policy” in the countries of the region. The main outcome of this project is a series of reports which provide both country overviews and a regional overview. These reports offer an analysis of the education system and address issues and barriers to reform and recommendations. The recommendations are designed to be of use for national policy-makers and to assist Stability Pact partner countries and institutions target regional assistance in order to achieve the goal of supporting South Eastern Europe towards European integration. These reports are part of the OECD’s ongoing co-operation with non-member economies around the world.

The Thematic Review of Education Policy of Albania describes the current status of the education system and reform efforts underway. The country is introduced by general and demographic data; language, the geographic and historical context; the political, economic and the labour market situation; it also describes the structure and the legal framework. The whole education system is covered, from general education to vocational education, from higher education to lifelong learning, but focusing on early childhood and care, teachers and teacher training, curriculum and governance and administration. Equity in access, attainment and achievement are central issues, and special consideration is given to ethnic and minority questions and education for children with special needs. Attention is paid to decentralisation and financing of education; to quality, assessment and evaluation in education; to pre-service and in-service teacher training; working conditions and teacher salaries, the role of school inspectors; textbook provision and material and resources in general. The report describes issues and barriers at all levels of the education system and gives recommendations for policy makers, practitioners and donors...

L’examen thématique de la politique de l’éducation de l’Albanie fait le point sur le système éducatif et les efforts de reforme en cours dans ce pays. Le rapport commence par fournir des données générales et démographiques, situer le contexte linguistique, géographique et historique, et présenter la situation politique, économique et du marché du travail ; par ailleurs, il donne une description de la structure et du cadre juridique. Il traite de l’ensemble du système éducatif, autrement dit, aussi bien de l’enseignement général et supérieur que de la formation professionnelle et de la formation tout au long de la vie, mais porte plus particulièrement sur l’accueil et l’éducation de la petite enfance, les enseignants et leur formation, les programmes, la gestion et l’administration. L’équité devant l’accès, le niveau de formation atteint et les résultats obtenus sont des questions essentielles et les aspects liés à l’appartenance ethnique et aux minorités ainsi que les enfants ayant des besoins éducatifs particuliers bénéficient d’une attention spéciale. Le rapport examine aussi la décentralisation et le financement de l’éducation, la qualité et l’évaluation dans ce secteur, la formation initiale et en cours d’emploi des enseignant, les conditions de travail et les rémunérations du personnel enseignants, le rôle des inspecteurs scolaires, l’offre d’ouvrages scolaires, ainsi que les matériels et ressources en général. Cet ouvrage décrit les problèmes qui se posent et les obstacles rencontrés à tous les niveaux du système éducatif et formule des recommandations à l’intention des décideurs publics, des personnes de terrain et des donneurs...

Private investment by Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)1 is a key generator of economic growth and social change in OECD member country economies. In most countries, over 90% of all enterprises are SMEs. It is now widely accepted that the contribution of SMEs to new jobs, exports, innovation and regional development is vital to national development. How to benefit from and maximise this contribution is a continuous challenge for all countries. This Enterprise Policy Performance Assessment seeks to help address that question for Albania and highlights issues that require attention and priority action.

This Enterprise Policy Performance Assessment report is presented as an independent and constructive contribution to the debate on enterprise policy in Albania, bringing forward the views of the small business sector and providing a set of priority actions and policy recommendations to the government and the small business community.

An initiative launched by UNDP in Albania seeks to mobilise people to promote their development through their own resources and to participate in the decision-making process actively. The project is based on the fact that a participatory approach to community development requires responsible, well-informed and pro-active people. The results show that mobilisation works best if it is institutionalised within local government, and if the latter has developed a role of catalyst, providing guidance to the community, creating an enabling environment, facilitating fund raising and institutional support. Local government officials can usually play this role effectively provided that their capacities are enhanced to the required level. Training should be targeted towards the staff involved in planning and decision making on local development initiatives, and should include advice on accounting procedures.

The Albanian Constitution states that all individuals are equal before the law and that “no person will be unjustly discriminated against due to his or her sex”. Legislation makes provisions for treaties to supersede national law and the parliament has ratified CEDAW. Despite these signs of progress, however, much of Albanian society remains highly patriarchal.

Using an innovative methodology, the Investment Reform Index 2010 (IRI 2010) monitors investment-related policy reforms in the economies of South-East Europe and compares these to best practices in the OECD area. Based on inputs from governments, the private sector, independent experts and multilateral organisations active in the region, the IRI 2010 assesses policies and institutional settings in eight fields of policy critical to domestic and foreign investors. These are: investment policy and promotion; human capital development; trade policy and facilitation; access to finance; regulatory reform and parliamentary processes; infrastructure for investment; tax policy analysis; and SME policy. For the economies examined, the IRI 2010 provides an independent and rigorous assessment of investment-related policy settings and reform against international good practice, guidance for policy reform and development and an evidence base with which to facilitate prioritisation of donor activities supporting investment and growth.

Albania has experienced strong economic growth in recent years. This occurred alongside a shift in national output from agriculture and industry to services and construction. Despite being one of the poorest SEE economies, the country has weathered the global financial crisis quite well. It is the only South-East Europe (SEE) economy where real GDP growth is expected to remain positive in 2009. Real GDP had increased at an average rate of 6.2% between 2005 and 2008, one of the highest rates in the region. The International Monetary Fund and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) both forecast positive real GDP growth in 2009 of 1.8% and 3% respectively (IMF, 2009; EBRD, 2009).