School year 2026–2027 opens with 238,000 pupils, fewer first‑graders due to demographic decline

The 2026–2027 school year opened on September 1 for about 238,000 pupils across North Macedonia: roughly 174,000 in primary schools and 64,000 in secondary schools. After the summer break, classes will run until June 10, 2027, except for graduating students whose instruction ends on May 17; the winter break is scheduled from December 31 to January 21.

Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski attributed the decline in pupil numbers to long-term demographic decline when asked by journalists at the start of the school year. He said that about 15,650 children were born in 2025, compared with pre-pandemic annual birth cohorts of around 22,000–23,000.

Local education authorities have already adjusted school networks, closing some small schools in areas with shrinking child populations. Officials say the reduction in first‑grade enrollments is a direct consequence of fewer births and ongoing emigration trends that reduce the number of school‑aged children in many municipalities.

Stabbing and serious injuries after fight in Čair

The Basic Public Prosecutor's Office in Skopje opened an investigative procedure against a 19‑year‑old suspect in connection with a violent incident in the Čair neighborhood. "The suspect and his minor brother, who is below the criminal responsibility age, committed acts of violence that inflicted severe bodily injuries with knife stabs on one child and one adult, while another child suffered lighter injuries. In public and among those present they caused feelings of insecurity, endangerment, fear and distress. The public prosecutor submitted a proposal to the pre‑trial judge to impose a detention measure for the adult suspect," the office said.

A 13‑year‑old child is reported to be in serious condition after the fight, in which the attackers used knives and batons.

Separately, the trial of appellate judge Gjoko Ristov continued with the presentation of intercepted conversations that prosecutors say point to meetings arranged between the judge and persons involved in the so‑called "Orient" case. Prosecutor Iskra Hadzhivasileva introduced wiretap material that, according to prosecutors, was collected amid suspicions of bribery directed at Ristov when he served as an appellate judge and dealt with the case.

Other bulletins published today show continued changes in social and economic indicators: nearly one in four passenger cars imported into the country in the first seven months of the year was new, yet the average vehicle on Macedonian roads remains 19.4 years old. Census data also record 344 citizens identifying as Yugoslavs, of whom 227 are men and 117 women.

Photo: press material from the event