Training
In Northern Macedonia, both primary and
secondary education are formally compulsory.
Nevertheless, many do not complete the entire education.
A modernization is underway of the country's education
system, which has long been neglected.
School compulsory school rules range from six years
of age to 17-19, depending on the type of school.
The nine-year primary school is run by the
municipalities, but is financed by the state. After
compulsory school, young people can choose different
vocational high school forms for two, three or four
years - or four-year college preparatory high school.
Most colleges are public and free of charge, but there
are some private and fee-based options.
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COUNTRYAAH:
Country facts of Macedonia, including geography profile, population statistics, and business data.
Most children attend primary school, but in rural
areas and among minority groups, not least the Roma,
many students drop out early. One reason may be that
parents do not have the opportunity to pay the
children's school books and school lunch.
The school is almost completely segregated between
the different groups of people. The quality of teaching
and the size of the classes vary greatly. The teaching
takes place in four languages: Macedonian, Albanian,
Turkish and Serbian.
The education has long been poorly adapted to today's
needs and in international comparisons Macedonian
students were among those who had the worst basic
knowledge. Investments have recently been made and
education is now given high priority by the government,
which invests more money at the school than many of the
neighboring countries. With financial support from the
World Bank, education was modernized throughout the
country during the period 2005–2015. Among other things,
school buildings were refurbished and students were
provided with modern textbooks and computers. Continued
efforts are being made to make education more adapted to
the labor market and society at large.
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 Investments are also made on adult education. Almost
anyone over 15 can read and write.
The government's reform of higher education also
included that all students, in order to obtain their
degree, must pass special state examinations. According
to the government, this would increase the quality of
education while the students believed that the reform
was only intended to get the students thinking as the
authorities wanted, that it was contrary to the
constitution and threatened the independence of the
universities. In late 2014 and early 2015, students,
later joined by high school students, conducted
extensive protest demonstrations, but the degree
requirement was nevertheless passed by the government.
There are state universities in Skopje and Bitola.
They only teach in Macedonian and few Albanians study
there. In Tetovo, which has a large Albanian majority,
the Albanians started in 1995 - despite the government's
ban - a private university teaching in Albanian. In an
attempt to resolve the contradiction, a privately funded
university was established in Tetovo in 2001, teaching
mainly Albanian and English. This was done with the
support of the European OSCE. However, following
amendments to the Higher Education Act, the unofficial
Albanian University of Tetovo in 2004 could be
transformed into a government-funded educational
institution.
In addition, several private colleges were started in
the 2000s, but low admission requirements to attract as
many students as possible mean that education at these
does not always maintain such a high standard. One
problem is also the corruption in the education system
that allows some to buy good grades and a higher
education.
FACTS - EDUCATION
Number of pupils per teacher in primary
school
14 (2015)
Reading and writing skills
96.1 percent (2002)
Public expenditure on education as a
percentage of GDP
8.6 percent (2002)
Public expenditure on education as a
percentage of the state budget
8.6 percent (2002)
2011
December
ICC criticism of Greece's veto
The International Court of Justice (ICC), to which Macedonia has turned,
explains that Greece was wrong when it vetoed a Macedonian NATO membership.
However, the message has no practical significance.
October
Census is postponed
The planned census is halted until further disagreement has arisen as to
which ones to count - how, for example, to do with the many Macedonian citizens
who reside outside Macedonia for a shorter or longer period of time?
June
Worried after the election
The morning after the election, 22-year-old Martin Neškovski was beaten to
death in central Skopje by a special police force who would be responsible for
the order in the capital when the election results were celebrated. Authorities
initially deny responsibility, but many witnesses spread the information on
Twitter and demonstrations against police follow. Following calls on Facebook,
the protests continue for weeks with the participation of thousands of people.
VMRO-DPMNE wins in new elections
In a new election to Parliament, VMRO-DPMNE is again the largest party but
backs 39 percent voter support and receives fewer seats than before. VMRO-DPMNE
thus becomes more dependent on its Albanian partner BDI and for the first time
an Alban, Fatmir Besimi, is appointed Minister of Defense. The Social Democratic
opposition is strongly moving forward in the new election, receiving 33 percent
of the vote.
January
The opposition boycott parliament
The Social Democratic opposition within the SDSM party boycotted the work in
Parliament in protest of what it perceives as a blow to government-critical
media.
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