Our job is to talk openly and transparently about the issues we face. It is a fact that the number of first-year students in the country has decreased and it is a fact that some schools are naturally closing, Macedonian Minister of Education and Science Vesna Janevska said Wednesday after reactions that schools are being closed because children are not being enrolled, but also because of the optimization of the school network and the merging of classes from run-down schools into larger schools.
The Macedonian Ministry of Education and Science (MES) previously announced that this year there are about 3,000 fewer first-year students enrolled than last year and that because they have no students enrolled, 26 regional schools will be temporarily closed from September 1, and a total of 148 empty school buildings in the country, mostly in rural areas. In 2026-2027, there will be 433 fewer classes – 222 fewer in primary education and 211 in secondary education due to the merger of parallel schools with several students, i.e. the reorganization of teaching.
Regarding the closure of regional schools with a small number of students, she reiterated that it is not right for a group of children aged five to nine to live in isolation in one school, because that way they have no competition, no motivation to acquire knowledge and are not socialized with other children.
“It is in the children’s best interest to be in a larger group, it is in the children’s best interest to develop empathy, to learn how to solve problems, to see better school conditions, to see a smart board, to get a tablet, to make friends with other children who are different from them, to learn to respect each other. There are many reasons why we need to do this. It is my duty to do this, because if I don’t do it, by not doing it I am harming the entire society, primarily the children. We should have started this process much earlier so that we would not be in such a critical situation. We are currently in a critical situation. We are doing everything we can to resolve it in a peaceful and painless manner and we will continue to do so in the same way, regardless of whether certain groups, whoever they are and wherever they are from, react,” Minister Janevska stressed.
She pointed out that this was done in agreement with all mayors together with school principals to, she said, “see how to resolve these problems in the most painless way.” She emphasized that she is open to suggestions.
“I know that these are painful reforms, I know that a minister who makes such reforms may not be popular, but that is not important. It is important to do good for children, because the survival of this country depends on the young people who will now develop. And the task of schools is to make them aware and good citizens, primarily for themselves, and then for everyone else,” Minister Janevska added.
