Opinion from Muriel
In Albanian public discourse, the term “modernization” is increasingly becoming a euphemism to cover the transfer of vital state functions to hybrid entities, where the will of the donor outweighs the interest of the citizen. The most recent case, that of the creation of the National Agency for Educational Services (AKSHA), formalized on May 6, 2026 at the Pyramid, is not simply a step towards digitalization, but a dangerous experiment in “co-governance” that touches the heart of the Albanian merit system: the matura, diplomas and professional certification.
The paradox of the “veto” over the public institution remains the darkest point of this reform, as the core of the problem lies not in Cambridge technology or AADF funds, but in the legal architecture of this new institution. According to the draft law approved in March 2026, the AKSHA Governing Council will make key decisions, including structure, senior appointments and fees, only with a qualified majority of 4/5 of the votes.
In a board of five members, two of whom are nominated by the donor, this math produces a shocking result: the Albanian state has stripped itself of autonomous decision-making. Every structural change and every new tariff necessarily passes under the donor's filter, turning technical assistance into a "regulatory capture" by law.
The transformation from a public service to a paid platform completes the picture of this financial transformation, where AKSHA will no longer be a budgetary office like QSHA, but a self-financing institution.
The official statements during the signing of the agreement were clear: the agency will expand its range of services towards the private sector and paid certifications. When an institution that holds the monopoly of national assessment is pushed towards the logic of the market, there is a risk that education will no longer be seen as a right, but as a product that must generate revenue to maintain the structure, turning into a disguised tax on education.
Silence as approval and the poverty of consultation indicate a worrying democratic vacuum, as in a functional democracy, a reform affecting the "diploma database" should trigger a broad national debate.
However, the Public Consultation Register shows zero comments, which attests to a closed and expedited process to avoid accountability.
In order not to leave AKSHA at the level of a "political concession", the government has the obligation to make public the documents that have until now been treated as private property: from Cambridge's 10-year strategic plan to the full agreement with AADF.
Education is the last line of defense for public equality and, while modernization is necessary, it cannot serve as a Trojan horse to install mechanisms where private donors have blocking power over state policies.
Albania can and should receive the best global expertise, but the keys to the house, the keys to diplomas and merit should be held only by the state, on behalf of its citizens. Anything else is not progress, but a gradual surrender of sovereignty under the guise of technology.
