Albania is expanding the use of intelligent cameras in schools to strengthen security and allow authorities and school staff to respond more quickly to incidents, Prime Minister Edi Rama said on September 1.

The introduction of smart cameras in school is part of a broader increase in the use of electronic surveillance equipment in Albania, including through the Smart City project launched in partnership with UAE-based Presight AI. However, this has raised concerns about privacy and citizens' rights. 

Rama visited Tirana's Partizani high school, one of 20 schools where the system has been introduced as part of the government's Smart City project. The cameras cover common areas but not classrooms, with footage connected to the National Monitoring Center and State Police.

"We are moving from an old generation of cameras, which helped to a certain extent but were completely inadequate to follow situations in real time and to have a clear picture of the overall line of behaviour in the common environment," Rama said.

The system can identify and flag certain behaviours in real time, providing an additional tool for security officers, school administrators and support staff, the government said.

At Partizani, which has about 600 students and teachers, around 30 cameras have been installed in shared spaces.

"We have approximately 30 cameras installed in the common areas. We do not have cameras in the classrooms," the school's head said.

Rama said the government would expand the system beyond the initial 20 schools, focusing first on the country's most populated institutions.

Education Minister Mirela Kumbaro said about 90 new school security officers would be certified by the end of September, working alongside psychologists and social workers. The government also plans regular police patrols near schools during arrival, departure and break times.