University of Shkodër – A Cradle of Resistance and Sacrifice at Risk of Closure
Written by Flamur Bucpapaj
The University of Shkodër “Luigj Gurakuqi” is not merely an educational institution; it is a symbol of resistance and the birthplace of the spirit of opposition against the communist dictatorship, where the first student protests took place and the foundations were laid for a generation that refused to submit. The demonstration on December 13, the hunger strike I led, and all the students’ efforts represented a determined act of resistance, a month of sacrifice and perseverance, culminating in the elevation of the Pedagogical Institute to university status. This was a historic step toward academic emancipation and a moral and symbolic victory for the entire city and its students. Names such as Nazmi Peka, Arben Çeliku, Ylber Hasani, and Ismet Pali, along with the rebellious female students, demonstrated that resistance knows no gender boundaries, while the faculty who stood with us, including Xhovalin Kolombi, Mahir Hoti, Menduh Dërguti, and Bajram Xhafa, offered unwavering support, defying the opposition of the majority of the academic staff, particularly the former history department, which sought through its harshness to intimidate students and obstruct every step toward academic freedom.
Since its founding in May 1991, the university has suffered from a lack of state support, a shortage of laboratories, inadequate teaching facilities, and insufficient dormitories for students. However, the real reason why politicians and certain power structures now seek to close this university goes far beyond funding shortages. This is a deliberate, covert, and violent policy against the north and the poorer social strata, aiming to centralize education in Tirana and eliminate any centers of free thought in the provinces. It is not merely a withholding of funds but a strategy designed to prevent the university from functioning normally, lowering the quality of education, driving away talented faculty, and intimidating students.
This opens the door to economic manipulation, where some funds intended for northern education are appropriated by powerful networks of private business and mafia elements, rendering the university incapable of developing laboratories, dormitories, or other educational projects. In this way, the weakening of the university is not accidental but intentionally designed to eliminate competition from the provinces against the elite concentrated in the capital and to isolate the poorer social strata from opportunities for academic advancement. This centralization process also represents a form of “economic genocide” against the north, harming citizens who cannot afford to travel or live in Tirana, leaving a large portion of northern youth without real prospects.
The lack of investment and the abandonment of institutions in the north have deep consequences: students leave, classrooms empty, scientific research weakens, and the university’s historical and cultural heritage is at risk. This is a silent strategy to justify eventual closure: when the university lacks funds, suffers from low quality, and students depart, it can be claimed that it is unnecessary, making it appear as a natural administrative decision, whereas in reality it is a political decision with clear motives.
This situation also has a significant social dimension, as the university has historically been an open door for middle and lower-class students, enabling social mobility and offering opportunities for those who could not travel far from the capital. Weakening or closing it would create an even greater gap between the north and the center, isolating a large portion of the youth from higher education opportunities.
If this university is closed, it is not merely an institution that is lost; historical memory is lost, the sacrifices of generations of students and faculty are lost, freedom of thought is lost, and the identity of a city and the entire north is lost. This university is the place where the December 13 demonstration took place, where the hunger strike was held, where the right to academic freedom was won, and where a generation of courageous individuals was formed that refused to give up. It must not be forgotten, abandoned, or closed, because its closure would not only be an administrative act but a profound moral, social, and historical loss for all of Albania.
It is the duty of the state, faculty, and citizens to protect this cradle of knowledge and resistance, to ensure that higher education in northern Albania is not extinguished, and to demonstrate that freedom, knowledge, and sacrifice are always stronger than any political, ideological, or economic pressure. The University of Shkodër stands as a testament to a generation that refused to surrender, and it must remain alive as a symbol of resistance, courage, and academic freedom.
