国际英语新闻:Albanian PM appoints new education minister

TIRANA, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama announced here on Monday that he has appointed a new minister of education, sports and youth in his cabinet to replace the outgoing minister.

Via a live broadcast on his Facebook account, Rama announced that the Socialist Member of Parliament (MP) Evis Kushi will replace Besa Shahini.

The news comes on the first day of the new school year, which kicked off on Monday when around 480,000 students in the primary and secondary schools returned after the closure since COVID-19 pandemic broke out in the country in early March.

Rama thanked Shahini for the "great contribution" given by her in this post.

Shahini declared that it has been a privilege and honor for her to contribute to the education field in Albania.

In her remarks, Kushi said "it will be a great responsibility for her to lead the sector where she has been working for 23 years."

Last week during an interview with local media, Shahini confirmed her departure from the cabinet, citing family reasons, but she planned to leave the post at the end of her mandate in April next year.

Kushi, 44, was elected MP of the Socialist Party in 2013, and has previously held the post of dean at the Faculty of Economy in the university Aleksander Xhuvani in the city of Elbasan, center Albania.