Prime Minister Edi Rama met with a group of parents today to discuss the creation of a National Council for Children with Disabilities and ways to strengthen the support-teacher system.

Minister of Health and Social Welfare Klodiana Spahiu, Minister of Education Mirela Kumbaro and State Social Service Director Reme Lala also attended the meeting.

During the discussion, parents raised concerns about support for children with disabilities in the education system. They also highlighted the need for sensory areas and resource rooms in schools.

One parent said families want to help improve the system and create better conditions for their children.

“These are our children, and every day we try to help them develop their abilities and provide the best conditions we can. The system has made this more difficult, and we want to make a real contribution to improving it. Another issue is the need for sensory areas or resource rooms,” the parent said.

Education Minister Mirela Kumbaro spoke about the growing number of support teachers and plans to create dedicated spaces in schools.

“The number of support teachers continues to increase every year. Previously, one support teacher worked with four children. Today, we have one support teacher for each child. We also plan to increase the number of support hours, depending on each case,” Kumbaro said.

She added that schools are also creating dedicated classrooms for children who need a suitable space to communicate and calm down.

“Schools are creating dedicated classrooms where children can go when they experience difficulties with communication or become agitated. Together with the support teacher, they can use an interactive room where they can feel more comfortable,” Kumbaro said.

Another parent highlighted the need for teacher training. The parent noted that some teachers rely on personal experience to adapt to the needs of children with disabilities.

“Some 91% of teachers rely on personal experience and self-efficacy to adapt to these children. This shows that we have strong potential, even though not all teachers have received training,” the parent said.

During the discussion, Rama stressed the need to establish a training system and provide additional financial support for support teachers.

“We need to build a training system. Second, we need to consider providing these teachers with additional financial support. They should definitely receive a bonus on top of their salary,” Rama said.

Rama also called for the creation of a consultative council that would meet regularly and provide a structure for reporting problems promptly.

“We should establish a consultative council that meets regularly. It should also have a small secretariat, with someone who can report problems in real time. Otherwise, something may happen between one meeting and the next, three months later, that needs immediate attention,” Rama said.

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