The Republic of Macedonia is located in south-east Europe, in the central part of the Balkan Peninsula. Geographically, Macedonia is a central Balkan state bordering four countries (Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria and Albania), with an important geo-strategic position because it is the crossroad of strategic routes connecting Western and Central Europe.
The area of the country is 25,713 square kilometres. The total population in 2004 was 2,032.000, of which 64.18 per cent were ethnic Macedonians, 25,17 per cent were ethnic Albanians and 10,65 per cent other (Serbs, Turks, Roma, Bosnians). There are 84 municipalities in Macedonia and 58 per cent of the population is concentrated in urban areas: Skopje (the capital of Macedonia), where 25 per cent of total population lives, and other major cities, such as Kumanovo, Bitola, Ohrid, Tetovo Strumica and Prilep.
The country is a member of the UN and the Council of Europe and an associate member of La Francophone, the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Since December 2005, the Republic of Macedonia is also a candidate for joining the European Union and has applied for NATO membership.
Today, the Republic of Macedonia is considered a country with an intermediary-developed industry, with modest growth of industrial production. It has an open economy that is integrating into international trade. The most important sectors are agriculture and industry. The service sector also grew in the past few years. GDP per capita in 2006 was USD 2,393 and there was an increase of seven per cent in 2007. The rate of unemployment is high: 34.2 per cent in 2007. Work force education and skills are competitive. The country's economic policy is to attract foreign investments and to increase employment rates. One of the biggest features of the economy is the fiscal discipline which maintained a stable currency for a long period. The past few years saw a significant rise in the economy and, with the recent candidacy for the EU, the country ought to be making constant progress.
The Republic of Macedonia is a parliamentary democracy. The President is elected by nation-wide elections, as well as the Parliament. Executive power is held by the national government. The President of the Republic of Macedonia is Mr Branko Crvenkovski. The Prime Minister is Mr Nikola Gruevski, the leader of the VMRO-DPMNE party that won the parliamentary election in July 2006. The principal goals of the Government’s mandate for the next four years are improving the living standards, improving employment, fighting corruption, continued development of democracy, political stability and its integration into the EU and NATO.
The need for reforms in education has been acknowledged and steps have been taken in order to bring the Macedonian education system in-line with the postulates of the Bologna process and the EU provisions. Parents and the public expect high-quality knowledge, which often results in less emphasis on skills. Prestigious schools, mostly academically-orientated grammar schools (Gymnasiums), are held in high acclaim. There are significant differences in the results of students from academic and vocational schools. Vocational schools are considered as having lower status among parents and society.
(Figures for population, unemployment and GDP were obtained from the National Office of Statistics.)
The first recorded organized and mass mode of tuition at higher level on the present territory of the Republic of Macedonia dates back to the early 10th Century, when the first university-like schooling was established in Ohrid by St Kliment of Ohrid, one of the disciples of Saints Cyril and Methodius, the brothers who created the Slavic alphabet in the 9th Century.
Education is held in high esteem by parents and the general public, and despite the low economic standard of living, always prioritized when planning family budget.
Currently, the structure of the Macedonian education system is as follows:
- Pre-school education (creches, nursery schools): not compulsory
- Primary education (nine years): age 6 to 14, compulsory
- Secondary education (three / four years): age 15 to 18 / 19, not compulsory, but planned
- Higher education
Compulsory education applies to children from six years of age. It is spread over nine grades and is provided at elementary schools. There is a recognised division between the primary and secondary school levels: the primary level is usually taught by a single generalist teacher, while at the secondary stage, subjects are taught by teachers specialising in subjects.
The school year at elementary and secondary schools runs from the beginning of September until the end of June. The main holiday is in July and August. Pupils attend school from Monday to Friday. There are no classes at weekends.
With the decentralisation in education, primary and secondary schools are the responsibility of municipalities. Costs for the state primary and secondary schools are covered by the government.
At the beginning of the 2006 / 2007 school year, there were 1,003 schools carrying out education. In the 2006 / 2007 school year, 212,331 students (from I to VIII grade) were enrolled .In the preparatory group-zero grade, 19,166 students were enrolled.
Secondary schools are divided into Secondary Grammar Schools (Gymnasiums), and Secondary Vocational Schools (with a three- or four-year curriculum).
In regular upper-secondary education at the beginning of the 2006 / 2007 school year, 104 schools (from which seven were private schools) provided education for 95,366 enrolled students and 6,247 teachers.
The interest among students is greater for the grammar schools (40.2 per cent) and for the four-year VET schools (50.8 per cent), whereas nine per cent of students enrol at the three-year VET schools.
At the beginning of the school year, two schools were carrying out religious upper-secondary education, Orthodox religious and Islamic religious upper-secondary education with 271 male students. The education is carried out by 33 male teachers.
In special primary and lower-secondary education (for children with disabilities), at the beginning of the school year, 45 schools provided education for 978 enrolled students.
In the special upper-secondary education (for children with disabilities), at the beginning of the 2006 / 2007 school year, four schools provided education to 329 students.
According to the Higher Education Law, tertiary educational institutions are: universities, faculties and colleges.
Studies for a Bachelor's degree usually last four years, whereas the Master's last two years. Doctoral studies run according to an individual study scheme under a tutor's guidance.
Programmes for Bachelor's, Masters's or Doctoral studies may be full- or part-time (depending on the subject area).
Institutions of higher education are legal entities. A faculty cannot be an autonomous legal entity, but is part of an institution of higher education. State higher education institutions are state-subsidised (four, in Skopje, Bitola , Tetovo and Stip), and there are a number of private universities (in Skopje and Tetovo).
The number of enrolled students at the universities in Skopje, Bitola and Tetovo (SEE University) at the beginning of the winter semester in the 2006 / 2007 academic year reached 57,011 students; this was higher than the previous academic year (2005 / 2006) by 17.8 per cent or 8,625 students. 1,285 students or 2.3 per cent from the total number of enrolled students in the 2006 / 2007 academic year enrolled at higher schools, while the number of students enrolled on all years at faculties was 55,726 or 97.7 per cent. The participation of female students in the total number of enrolled students was 54.5 per cent or 31,052 students, from which the participation at higher schools was 87.8 per cent and at faculties was 53.7 per cent or 29,923 students.
(Figures for population, unemployment and GDP were obtained from the National Office of Statistics.)
The national education reform strategy 2005 to 2015 by the Ministry of Education is focusing on raising the education standards in all aspects of education and, inter alia, on support for private education initiatives, completion of education legislation, increasing international co-operation and mobility for teaching staff and students, and on completion of the introduction of the ECT. The UK is well-placed to be a partner of choice in many areas, such as the Quality Assurance in Higher Education, State Education inspectorate, ICT in schools and education management (school and university).
The DfES is perusing Macedonian Ministry of Education’s proposal for bi-lateral co-operation, facilitated by British Council Macedonia. The British Council, as one of the key partners, co-operates with the Ministry of Education and its Bureau for the Development of Education in the areas of teacher training (developing teaching / assessing the capacity for written English), quality assurance (HE), and, as of this year, teaching English to young learners, and Skills @ Work – a British Council’s regional project. The Ministry of Education is perusing the Global Gateway registration, and we hope that school links could be done soon after that.
According to the 2004 Census, only 7.28 per cent of the population hold HE qualifications (four years BA), 3.24 per cent hold HNC/D type qualifications, 29.45 per cent hold four-year secondary education qualification, and 10.64 per cent hold three-year secondary education qualification. The HE students’ input in a segment of 100,000 population is 2,212 and the aim of the Ministry of Education under Strategy 2015 is to increase it to 3,500.
The proportion of HE students studying abroad increases every year, but there are no qualitative data on this. The UK's market competitors are the USA, Germany, Bulgaria and Greece. The UK has been seen as a desirable destination for both undergraduate and postgraduate studies, but the most expensive at the same time. Growth markets by subject area are economics, law and languages.
The market is concentrated in the capital; most higher education institutions are concentrated in the capital, as 25 per cent of the population lives there. There is an increasing demand for overseas qualifications, seen as enabling greater mobility, but the cost of an overseas qualification is unattainable for most Macedonian students.
Macedonian students are still not fully aware of the potential of UK distance learning opportunities and various models of education delivery. Hence, recognition of overseas qualifications by distance learning may be seen as an issue. More young people are seeing English and internationally recognised qualifications as a gateway to a successful career.
Competition for textbooks is high and home and foreign publishing companies are well established in the market. From the investor's point of view, it is an underdeveloped market, comparable with European countries.
Most projects with international involvement are financed from EU projects (Phare, Tempus) and the World Bank.
The British Council is based in Skopje, the capital. We work in the following professional areas: English and examinations; education; youth and sport; society; information; arts.
The British Council has administered examinations in English as a Foreign Language for Cambridge English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) in the Republic of Macedonia since 1993, and as an independent centre since 2000. The examinations are held twice a year, in June and December. Some 400 candidate a year take the Cambridge ESOL exams, with a 75 per cent pass rate. The British Council also administers the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), as well as examinations for a range of international professional bodies, universities and colleges. These include the ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute, the Open University, the University of London, the BBC, and others.
The British Council annually administers around five Chevening awards on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Our key partners and clients are the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, for the implementation of Chevening programme and support of international strategic priorities through delivery of joint public diplomacy initiatives; the Department for Education and Skills, for negotiating co-operation with the Macedonian Ministry of Education under a proposed Memorandum of Understanding.
We work closely with a range of country partners to achieve our outcomes, such as the Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Education, Bureau for the Development of Education, National and University Library St. Clement of Ohrid, the Government Secretariat for EU Affairs, state and private Universities (their English departments), the English Language Teachers’ Associations, the Macedonian Association of Quality Language Services, the Macedonian National Opera and Ballet.
In 2007 / 2008:
- 13,497 people visited our website
- we handled 12,000 customer enquiries
- 892 students took examinations with us
- 16,554 people participated in our programmes.
| 
