NORTH MACEDONIA

Status of Education: North Macedonia

In recent history, North Macedonia has had its fair share of ups and downs.

Unfortunately, education has not been at the forefront of the country's mind. However,

with that being said the education of North Macedonia is in better shape than one would

expect. But how does it live up to the standards of the UN Global Education initiative?

Priority 1

As you know the first priority is to "put every child in school” (Priorities, n.d.).

According to the North Macedonian Constitution, all children ages 6 to 15 must attend

school meaning they have compulsory education. In addition to this, the law on high

school education specifies that all children must attend high school for four years in

North Macedonia ​(Indicators, n.d.)​.

Chart depicting the setup of the education system in North Macedonia by grade, age, and level of education

https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-3-319-07473-3_30
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Priority 2

North Macedonia’s education system was created while they were still part of

former country Yugoslavia. With their relatively recent freedom, updates are still being

made to the system. However, these changes are what helps show that North

Macedonia is reaching priority 2: Improve the Quality of Learning (Priorities, n.d.).

Among these changes are the replacement of outdated textbooks and updating

the curriculum to more accurately reflect the history of the area and of the entire world.

Prior to these modifications, the education system would have been teaching with the

jade-tinted lenses from Soviet influences (Macedonia - Educational System-Overview,

n.d.).

Priority 3

Priority 3 ensures that education systems have a deep focus on increasing and

fostering global citizenship (Priorities, n.d.). North Macedonia has found a way to do this

just within their own borders. In North Macedonia, there is a project called the Youth

Ethnic Integration Project that began in 2017 and is currently set to last until 2022. The

four main ethnic groups in North Macedonia are Macedonians, Turks, Roma, and

Albanians (Danforth, 2020). And as many could expect, they do not always come

together in areas that would benefit them all, such as education. However, this project is

a way to encourage that integration. The goal of the project is to help foster

opportunities for schools to create intercultural and interethnic understanding and

acceptance (Education: Macedonia, 2018). These teachings are the building blocks on

which global citizenship is built.

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A cultural map depicting the ethnic groups of North Macedonia.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_the_majority_ethnic_groups_of_Macedonia_by_municipality.svg

Conclusion

While North Macedonia is far from the top of the list when it comes to their status

of education, there is a plethora of data to argue that they are making strides in

improvement. With laws, programs, and shift in attention to education, it is reasonable

to state that North Macedonia is reaching the three priorities put forth by the UN Global

Education Initiative. And not only are they reaching, but they will continue to make

positive changes to increase their standards.

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References

Danforth, L. (2020, September 11). North Macedonia. Retrieved November 01, 2020,

from ​https://www.britannica.com/place/North-Macedonia/People

Education: Macedonia. (2018, January 23). Retrieved November 02, 2020, from

https://www.usaid.gov/macedonia/education

File:Map of the majority ethnic groups of Macedonia by municipality.svg. (n.d.).

Retrieved November 02, 2020, from

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_the_majority_ethnic_groups_of_Ma

cedonia_by_municipality.svg

Goal 4: Quality education. (n.d.). Retrieved October 28, 2020, from

https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-4-

quality-education.html

Indicators. (n.d.). Retrieved October 28, 2020, from ​https://data.worldbank.org/indicator

Macedonia - Educational System-overview. (n.d.). Retrieved October 28, 2020, from

https://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/893/Macedonia-EDUCATIONAL-SYSTE

M-OVERVIEW.html

Oschlies, W., & Hörner, W. (1970, January 01). Macedonia. Retrieved November 02,

2020, from ​https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-319-07473-3_30

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Priorities: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. (n.d.).

Retrieved October 28, 2020, from ​http://www.unesco.org/new/en/gefi/priorities/

Rediscover the world as you've never seen it before. (2019, October 16). Retrieved

October 28, 2020, from ​https://worldmapper.org/