Nm.jpg

Education for decision makers in Western Balkans: REPORT on North Macedonia

byИОХН-С

It is our pleasure to share with you the Education for Europe consortium research (ES-BAL MAE-supported project) on education for decision-makers in the Western Balkans: REPORT on North Macedonia. You can find the report at the link below.

Except from the Study:

Short history of the education system of North Macedonia

The tradition of the education system in North Macedonia is a continuation of the model and traditions established in the former socialist federation of Yugoslavia and, before that, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The system in Yugoslavia was essentially emulating the continental model, the German and French with its “lycées” or “gymnasiums” of 4 years finishing with baccalaureates or Abitur (called “Matura” in all of the languages of the former Federation) and then, on the level of tertiary education, a minimum of 8 semester BA level studies [REF]. It is important to note here, that in spite of the country being a member of the Bologna process (European Higher Education Area, abbreviated EHEA) for 19 years now, and having adopted the 3+2 model, it still maintains the old tradition and the variant of 4+1 is still existing and highly popular, in particular at the public universities and their humanities departments.  The oldest higher education institution is the University of Skopje “St Cyril and Methodius” (abbreviated as UKIM), established a bit over a hundred years ago with the establishment of the Faculty of philosophy and the departments of Classics and Philosophy at its inception.  Sadly, a mass “exodus” of students, studying primarily in the former Yugoslav republics, now EU member states, Slovenia and Croatia more specifically, has resulted in a dramatically decreased number of enrolled students both at Skopje University, which has affected its international rank, as well as at the other universities.

The available statistics concerning number of students in the country are for the academic year 2021/2022 and the total of enrollments is 51.582.[1] In spite of the fact that this number is higher by 1.4% compared to the previous years, the drop of students is constant. For the sake of comparison, which is by 12.000 less compared to 10 years ago. North Macedonia has been a full member of the Bologna process since 2003 (or the European Higher Education Area), has reformed its system accordingly, employs the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) and is a full program member of the Erasmus+ Program. It is one of the 6 full members of the Erasmus program that are not EU member states, next to Serbia, Norway, Lichtenstein, Iceland, Turkey.[2] It is integrated fully in the ENIC/NARIC system which allows an overview of all accredited institutions and performs recognition and equivalence of ECTS, diplomas and diploma supplements.[3]

Many of the private universities offer programs in English, and international collaborative programs or joint degrees, such as University American College Skopje which holds both national (EHEA) accreditation as well as American accreditation. Consider Euro-College which offers studies jointly with Metropolitan University from London UK, in addition to other examples which are, however, in decreased compared to 15 years ago when branches of NYC Educational Group, Sheffield and other international universities were active in the country. In spite of the pronounced international component, public universities are still more popular in N. Macedonia, and the vast majority of those enrolled in 2021-2022 are students at the public universities, namely 82.6 % of them.

[1] Source, State Bureau of Statistics “Enrolled Students in the Higher Education Institutions in Republic of North Macedonia in the academic year of 2021/2022 (first study cycle) [“Запишани студенти на високите стручни школи и факултетите во Република Северна Македонија во академската 2021/2022 година (прв циклус на студии)”], available at https://www.stat.gov.mk/PrikaziSoopstenie.aspx?rbrtxt=29, accessed 23 October 2022.

[2] Source: Erasmus+ EU programme for education, training, youth and sport: Eligible Countries, available at https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/programme-guide/part-a/eligible-countries, accessed on 23 October 2022.

[3] ENIC-NARIC: North Macedonia: National Information Centres, Informativen Centar – Ministerstvo za Obrazovanie i Nauka Informative Center – Ministry of Education and Science, https://www.enic-naric.net/page-North-Macedonia, accessed on 23 October 2022.

This post was originally published on this site

Продолжи со читање

  • Promotion of Minorities’ Participation in Multilevel Governance

    The PACT project officially started in Brussels with a 2-day international conference and workshop
    On 10 and 11 March 2026, Brussels hosted an International Conference and Workshop entitled “Promotion of Minorities’ Participation in Multilevel Governance”.
    It brought together experts coming from different realities, with a common goal: sharing good practices on how to promote inclusive participation of under-represented minorities, people with migratory background, refugees, Roma and other marginalised communities in local decision-making processes.
    The Conference
    The event opened on the morning of Tuesday 10 March with 2 panels.
    The first one – entitled “Minority Participation in Multilevel Governance: EU perspectives” – was moderated by Mohammed Mustafa (ALDA – European Association for Local Democracy) who introduced the main EU policy developments in the areas of anti-poverty and anti-discrimination, and migration, setting the tune of the conversation with the speakers:
    Julie Pascoet (European Network Against Racism – ENAR) focused on the European Anti-Discrimination Strategy,  highlighting how much this tool is necessary (but also how far it is to address the needs of the moment), and how civil society networks  play a crucial role to bridge the gap between EU policy intentions and the lived experiences of marginalised communities.
    Fernando Vasco Chironda (European Anti Poverty Network – EAPN) tackled the EU Anti-Poverty Strategy, underlying that – by excluding migrant people from vulnerability frameworks – the strategy risks deepening marginalisation of those most affected, and that local authorities are those with the responsibility to ensure inclusive participation spaces and adequate resources for people.
    Mojib Atal (Migration Policy Group – MPG) focused on the Migrant Integration Policy Index, reporting a concerning stagnation in political participation across the EU, and highlighting how multilingual education could serve as a democratic tool by recognising linguistic diversity rather than privileging a single dominant language.
     

    The second panel – “From Welcoming to Active Participation: Challenges, Practices and Power” – was moderated by Maddalena Alberti (ADL Zavidovici) and had the goal to hear from experts who exchanged ideas, perspectives and best practices for the inclusion of underrepresented minorities at a local level.
    Anna Coulibaly (International Catholic Migration Commission – ICMC Europe) introduced the Community Sponsorship, a community‑led integration model where volunteers, supported by civil society and approved by governments, commit to hosting and supporting refugees for at least a year.
    Loubna Reguig (European Forum for Youth with Lived Migration Experience – VOICIFY) urged how self‑led organisations are essential to defend the political participation rights of young people with migrant backgrounds, since they create spaces where youth feel included, exchange knowledge and pool resources.
    Queenie Kessie (IOM Diaspora Advisory Board – DAB) showed how diaspora advisory structures can move beyond consultation and concretely ensure fair policies are good for migrant people and societies.
    Ismail Alkhateeb (PLACE Network) brought the organisation’s extensive experience to show that the inclusion of migrant people in local participatory processes can happen only when institutions and local communities jointly define problems, design solutions and test them at micro‑level.

    Conclusion
    Hosted by Amazone asbl (Brussels) and co-organised by ALDA (France), ADL Zavidovici (Italy), KMOP (Greece), Center for Intercultural Dialogue (North Macedonia), PLACE Network (France), Fons Català (Spain) and Konkáv Alapítvány (Hungary), the event saw the participation of public authorities, policy makers, organisations, media, underrepresented minorities united by the wish to learn on how working together is possible for a fair and equal European policy system.
    The initiative was part of the European-funded project PACT (Participatory Action for Transforming Communities) whose aim is empowering under-represented minorities in local communities in Europe.

  • Metamorphosis publishes research on the effects of disinformation and foreign influence on democratic processes

    The Metamorphosis Foundation has published the research “The Effect of Disinformation and Foreign Influences on Democratic Processes in North Macedonia in 2025,” which analyzes how disinformation and propaganda narratives affect public debate, trust in institutions, and citizen participation in democratic processes. The research combines an analysis of disinformation narratives and a survey of a nationally representative […]

  • On current economic topics, Blagica Petreski in Win-Win

    https://www.facebook.com/TVTelma/videos/2347874929012206
    The post On current economic topics, Blagica Petreski in Win-Win first appeared on Finance Think.
    The post On current economic topics, Blagica Petreski in Win-Win appeared first on Finance Think.

  • AJM Calls for Measured and Professional Communication with Journalists

    The Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM) is monitoring the public reaction following the communication between the Minister of Interior Panče Toškovski and journalist Frosina Fakova Serafinović from the media outlet Sloboden Pechat, during yesterday’s press conference, which was also …

  • Public call for participation in the co-creation of the National Action Plan for the Open Government Partnership 2026-2028

    Based on Article 3, paragraph (2), subparagraphs (5) and (6) of the Decision on the Establishment of the Council for Coordination and Monitoring of the 2024-2026 Open Government Partnership Process, No. 16-1662/1 of 02.05.2024, and the Decision on the Amendment of the Decision on the Establishment of the Council for Coordination and Monitoring of the […]
    The post Public call for participation in the co-creation of the National Action Plan for the Open Government Partnership 2026-2028 first appeared on Metamorphosis.

  • AJM and UNDP: Awards for Best Stories on Air Pollution

    The Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM), in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and with financial support from Sweden, today presented the awards for the best journalistic stories of 2025 on the theme: “Tackling Air Pollution – …