Despite the absence of the chairperson and deputy chairperson, the Investigative Committee for textbooks held a meeting on Monday, but the same was considered illegal and contrary to the Rules of the Assembly. However, the Committee composed of majority MPs interviewed three former Ministers of Education, while the former Minister Hykmete Bajrami refused to answer as she said that she does not participate in the legal violation of the ruling MPs.
After the opposition MPs, including the chairman of the committee, Shemsedin Dreshaj and the deputy chairperson, Ardian Kastrati, did not come to the meeting, the member of the Committee, the MP of LVV, Armend Muja proposed her fellow MP, Arjeta Fejza, to chair the meeting.
However, this decision by the former Minister of Education, Hykmete Bajrami, who is also the MP of the LDK in the current legislature, was considered illegal and inconsistent with the Rules of the Assembly.
She said that this meeting is being held illegally and that without the chairman and deputy chairman, the commission cannot be held, even though six MPs can be present.
According to her, the Administration of the Assembly also proves this.
This was denied by MP Muja, who said that based on the Law on Parliamentary Investigation, Article 11, Point 3, the meetings are necessarily held with the invitation of one third of the MPs.
In addition to this, the ruling MP requested that a member of the Assembly’s administration be removed from the meeting, as according to him, she is trying to influence the smooth running of the MP meeting without authorization.
After Muja’s request, she left the meeting.
Despite these dilemmas for the success of the committee’s meeting, the majority MPs invited former Ministers of Education as witnesses.
The former Minister of Education from PDK, Arsim Bajrami, who served in the years 2014-2017, reported before the MPs.
He said that during the three years of his mandate, school textbooks were provided in accordance with the law. The former minister stated that in the third year of government, he managed to provide textbooks for only 3.5 million euros, from 8 million in the first year.
Meanwhile, the former Minister of Education during the years 2017-2020, Shyqyri Bytqi, said that he does not remember the total cost of providing books, but added that there have often been excesses of what was originally planned in the Budget Law.
Likewise, the former minister, Ramë Likaj, said that he served during the pandemic, when the focus was on the opening of schools and the return of students to school banks.
He said that he does not remember how much the total cost of providing books in 2020-2021 was.
