The French lyceum of Korca was opened in October 25, 1917 with a decision of the Government Council of the Autonomous Region of Korca, after a severe war against the antinational feudalists and clerics. In 1921 it took the name “National Lyceum”. It was a laic, national school. The lessons were taken in French, except the subject of Albanian language.
The progressive students and teachers have played an important part in the democratic, anti zogist movement, in the spread of the communists idea and in the Liberating National Antifascist War. Student (1927-1930) and teacher (1937-1939) of this lyceum has been even Enver Hoxha. Many lyceum students were ranked alongside the democratic forces in the Democratic-Bourgeois Revolution in June 1924, in 21.02.1936 alongside the workers and craftsmen in the Bread Demonstration and in 28.11.1939 in the antifascist demonstration. After the foundation of the Albanian Communist Party and the creation of the organization of young communists, there were created even the 1st educational groups, but fascists tried to close this school for several times. After the rally of Voskopoja, from which 150 lyceum students became partisans, the National Lyceum of Korca was closed with the liberation of the country. 384 lyceum students of this school fought with weapons, 54 of them dropped martyrs for the liberation of their country, 3 of them people’s heroes. After the year1994, the Lyceum of Korca took the name of its ex-student and teacher of this school the martyr Raqi Qirinxhi, a People’s Teacher.