Vesna Janevska: This year almost 1,800 educational assistants were engaged, double compared with 2024
Janevska: 1,602 in primary and 176 in secondary education; State School "Dimitar Vlahov" functions as a resource centre since last year.
Education Minister Vesna Janevska announced that this school year a total of 1,778 educational assistants have been engaged in primary and secondary schools — more than double the number from 2024, when roughly 800 assistants were employed. She gave the figure while marking International White Cane Day in the Assembly at an event organised by the interparliamentary group for the rights of persons with disabilities and the Zeta organisation, in cooperation with the State School for Rehabilitation of Children and Youth with Visual Impairments "Dimitar Vlahov" and the National Union of the Blind.
Resource centre, new scholarships and further hiring
Of the total, 1,602 assistants serve in primary education and 176 in secondary schools. Janevska said a procedure is underway to recruit additional specialised staff for educational assistance.
She said the Government is working to strengthen the inclusiveness of the education system by bolstering schools’ professional services, improving physical accessibility of school buildings and providing extra support for pupils and students with disabilities.
Regarding education for children and young people with visual impairments, Janevska noted that the State School "Dimitar Vlahov" in Skopje has operated as a resource centre since last year, offering specialised support to pupils with special educational needs. This school year, the institution enrolled more students than in the previous year, which the minister described as a sign of growing parental confidence. She also announced plans to reconstruct the school after current works related to student dormitories are completed.
Janevska stressed that continuous provision of modern digital technology is particularly important for students with visual impairment because it facilitates learning, increases their independence and enables fuller participation in education.
In addition, she said two new categories of student scholarships have been introduced for students with disabilities and those with rare diseases. In cooperation with the State Archives of North Macedonia, a book has been prepared for students with visual impairments that covers fundamental topics about the state and major events in world history, giving these students access to content previously unavailable to them in an appropriate format.
Photo: Printskrin
