Albania installs smart cameras in 20 Tirana schools
Prime Minister Edi Rama says the rollout responds to a fatal school incident and will expand nationwide under a 'Smart City' plan.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama announced that the first 20 schools in Tirana have been equipped with intelligent camera systems as the initial step in a wider programme to strengthen security across schools nationwide.
Rama framed the move as a response to a recent fatal incident at a school in the capital and said it answered "an obligation he took on after the serious tragedy that happened at a school in Tirana, where a minor lost his life following a fight with his peers."
He explained the technical shortfalls of past installations and how the new devices work: "The previous camera systems did not have sufficient technology to signal the event in time. The smart cameras alert school principals, security personnel and the state police in real time in any case," he stressed.
Rama also said that a "Smart City" solution will be installed in every school as the rollout continues.
How the smart cameras are intended to operate
Government officials say the upgraded devices send immediate alerts to school management, on-site security teams and the Albanian State Police, allowing authorities to grasp an unfolding situation faster and intervene without delay.
Rama framed the project in personal terms: "When the terrible tragedy at a school in Tirana stopped the breath of all Albania, the cameras could not help us enough to understand the dynamics of that incident. Then I pledged that we would bring Albania to the highest level of technology to strengthen school safety like never before. Today, that obligation is beginning to become reality," he said.
Separately, the Ministry of Education issued new instructions yesterday that set a uniform school dress code for primary and secondary schools, ban the use of mobile phones, prohibit unhealthy food and introduce strengthened safety measures. "These 20 schools are only the vanguard of the process. We will make the commitment taken after that tragedy a reality, school by school, with technology in the service of humanity and, above all, the safety of children," Rama said.
Photo: press material from the event
