Albania

Compulsory Attendance Age

6–16 years old (Albanian Law No. 7952 on Pre-University Education System, Art. 8).

Number of Homeschooling Families

100+

Legal Status

Homeschooling is legal via an exemption from the Ministry of Education.

Law 69/2012, “For the System of Pre-University Education in the Republic of Albania,” Article 17, provides for education at home, clarified in orders from the Ministry that oversees pre-university education, which has been the Ministry of Education, Sport, and Youth since 2017.

While a comprehensive directive for the implementation of Article 17 of Law 69/2012 appears lacking as of January 2019, the “Normative Dispositions” published by the Albanian Ministry of Education and Sport in 2013, provides brief references to home education. In the “Normative Dispositions” home education appears to be ensured by the Regional Educational Directorates/Office of Education for children with physical disabilities who cannot attend school. Students for whom a teacher has been appointed by a school director to educate the student at home are excused from attendance requirements at school. These directives suggest that home education is envisioned under the supervision of a licensed teacher appointed by a school director or other educational directorate, seemingly only in cases of physical disability on the part of the student.

Home education in Albania thus appears to be promised in law, but comprehensive directives for the implementation of the law are lacking. The Ministry of Education, Sport, and Youth appears to conceive of home education only in cases of student disabilities.

Research by Timothy Hagen proposed that home education be more widely allowed in Albania and that several families, primarily expatriates, have educated their children at home.

To improve access to home education in Albania, researchers would do well to further examine the prevalence and outcomes of home-educated students in Albania and in similar countries. Regulators are likewise encouraged to explore the literature on home education and provide a non-adversarial regulatory framework that supports children in pursuing the best education possible, including, as appropriate, at home.