TIRANA, Sept 20 / ATA/- The Council of Ministers is expected to approve the special status of the Academy of Armed Forces, paving the way for substantial change of military education system in our country. This status enables not only the opening of first cycle studies but also accreditation of Armed Forces and its academic curricula.
Minister of Defense, Olta Xhaçka, shared this news with the students and lecturers of Armed Force Academy at the start of new academic year 2019 – 2020, with the participation of Minister of Education, Sport and Youth, Besa Shahini.
“Thanks to this transformation, which in the years to come we will have to take it further, a genuine system of meritocracy and a level of professionalism that was beyond imagination until a few years ago is being installed in the Armed Forces. To date, our officers are able to participate in missions wherever needed, to contribute to our collective security, by engaging as equals, side by side with their colleagues in some of the most modern and professional armies. This academy has a very important strategic role today for the transformation of the Albanian army. The Armed Forces we are building today are in fact very different from what we inherited. We once had a force based on mandatory recruitment, today we have a smaller, professional, volunteer force. And above all, we have a force that must meet NATO standards, which are definitely the highest standards that a military force anywhere in the world has to respect, “Defense Minister said in her speech.
To minister Shahini, the next decision of Council of Ministers ushers in a new era of Albanian officers’ education.
“This is not an ordinary institution of higher education, so we are working hard together with the Ministry of Defense to give a special status to the Armed Forces Academy so that the academic staff is treated the same as other institutions of higher education, ”Minister of Education, Sport and Youth said.
For the 11th consecutive year, the Armed Forces Academy has opened doors for students from several countries in the region. For 2019-2020, 182 candidates from Albania, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Greece, Croatia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Georgia and Kosovo will sit in the auditorium.
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