Macedonia's school system undergoes reforms

04/09/2007

Macedonian children are now entering school at age 6 instead of 7, and English will be part of the core curriculum from the first grade.

By Zoran Nikolovski for Southeast European Times in Skopje - 04/09/07

Under the new plan, children enter school at an earlier age. [Getty Images]

More than 300,000 young people hoisted their bookbags and headed for the classroom Monday (September 3rd) as the primary and secondary school year kicked off in Macedonia. Approximately 23,000 first graders are becoming the first to enter a new primary education system.

Under the new system, children will begin first grade a year earlier, at 6 instead of 7, and attend nine rather than eight years of primary school. The changes aim to bring Macedonia in line with many West European countries, where students start school at 6 and, in some countries, even 5 years of age. However, the reform has caused some difficulties.

Most schools in the country were built to accommodate a smaller number of students, and for now the school authorities must cope with restricted space. Nevertheless, the education ministry says instruction will proceed as planned.

Conditions will improve over time, Education Minister Sulejman Rusiti told reporters. Many problems with school facilities have been solved in the last ten months and the process will continue, he added.

The country's educational authorities have completed a new curriculum, and new textbooks have been published. The first grade curriculum is preparatory. In the first semester, the young students will mostly socialise and learn to adapt to the new environment. The second semester will introduce the basics of writing and the use of textbooks, slowly adjusting first graders to the new teaching material.

A major innovation in the educational system is the introduction of English as a compulsory subject in the first grade. In collaboration with the British Council, a team of 18 trainers have themselves received training. They will then go on to train 190 English teachers who will work in the schools.

Macedonia suffers from a shortage of primary-school English teachers. Although the country has sufficient numbers of qualified instructors, it is hard to attract them to the school system, where wages are low. Market demand for their English skills has increased in better-paid fields.

In first grade, the plan is to teach English without textbooks through games and drawings, and with simple aids such as pictures and abacuses. English composition instruction will begin in second grade.