Macedonia - Educational System—overview

Macedonia's current educational system was developed during the years in which Macedonia was a member state of Yugoslavia; it is a hybrid of systems common to most of western Europe. Textbooks and other aspects of instruction that reflect the years of Soviet influence are being phased out. Education is compulsory through eighth grade. In 1994 there were 1,067 elementary schools in Macedonia, with a total of 7,175 classes. Of those, 718 were ethnic Macedonian schools, attended by 188,051 ethnic Macedonian pupils. The 279 ethnic Albanian schools taught 72,121 ethnic Albanian pupils, and the remaining 55 elementary schools were attended by 5,342 ethnic Turkish children. The teachers for these schools were composed of 8,990 ethnic Macedonians, 3,571 ethnic Albanians, and 288 ethnic Turks.

The grading system in secondary school is on a five-point scale, with 5 as "excellent." In higher education, the grading system generally used for marking is on a scale of 5 through 10, with 6 as the minimum passing mark and 5 as the lowest mark on the scale.

About 70 percent of Macedonia's population completes secondary or higher (tertiary) education. In 1994 there were 97 high schools in Macedonia, with a total of 2,296 classes. Of these, 90 were ethnic Macedonian, with 2,218 classes; 5 were ethnic Albanian, with 72 classes; and two were ethnic Turkish, with 6 classes. There were 67,975 Macedonian, 2,535 Albanian, and 186 Turkish high school students. Of the high school teachers, 4,060 were ethnic Macedonians, 148 were ethnic Albanians, and 19 were ethnic Turks.

In the Republic of Macedonia, there are two major universities: the Sts. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje and the St. Clement of Ohrid University in Bitola. Also, after years of protests by ethnic Albanians and much political and legal wrangling, a third university in Tetovo opened in 2001 for ethnic Albanian students and Albanian language instruction. While it remains a political flashpoint for ethnic conflict, it is now an accredited institution serving several thousand students. The Pedagogical Faculty trains teachers in the minority languages at all of Macedonia's universities. The two major universities employ 1,192 lecturers and 1,207 assistants. Sts. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, which was founded in 1949, and other institutes of higher learning provide schooling for students seeking degrees of bachelor of arts and higher.

Some private schools exist at the primary and secondary levels. The University of Tetovo is the only private institution of higher education in the Republic of Macedonia, and its ability to garner state funding remains to be seen, for reasons of political strife. The new Law on Higher Education provides the possibility to establish other private and public higher education institutions and prescribes the conditions for establishing, performing, and ending their activity.