New school year starts tomorrow — 433 fewer classes and 148 empty school buildings
Teaching begins for 238,000 pupils; 14,952 first‑graders and 16,932 first‑year secondary students are enrolled, while 433 class‑groups were removed and 148 school buildings sit empty.
The new school year starts tomorrow for about 238,000 pupils across the country, the Ministry of Education and Science announced; 14,952 children will begin primary school and 16,932 students will enter the first year of secondary education.
This year the education network will open with 433 fewer class‑groups nationwide — 222 in primary and 211 in secondary schools. Because some branches had no new enrolments, 26 branch schools will be temporarily closed, while a total of 148 school buildings, mainly in rural areas, remain empty. The figures were given at a ministry press briefing by Minister of Education and Science Vesna Janevska.
"The school network has been optimized and conditions in a large number of schools have significantly improved. Textbooks have been provided for everyone, and for pupils with special educational needs the highest number of educational assistants so far have been engaged — 1,358 in primary and 166 in secondary education," Janevska said.
Single‑shift teaching rolled out and more space being finished
Out of 1,023 central and branch school buildings, 620 will operate with single‑shift timetables. The minister said one‑shift classes bring several benefits for pupils, from better concentration and socialisation to more time to master the curriculum and acquire skills.
"That means merging smaller classes with each other or attaching them to larger ones, so that pupils are in a larger group, can socialize better and compete with each other. It is no secret that for years, for example, there were two classes with two pupils each of the same age in the same school. We have now united such classes and therefore the education system this year will have 433 fewer classes," Janevska said.
The ministry also stressed that no regularly employed teacher lost their job during the optimisation process. To create capacity for single‑shift timetables, construction or additions are under way at 14 schools in the municipalities of Centar, Karpoš, Aerodrom, Gjorche Petrov, Butel, Ilinden, Gazi Baba and Gradsko.
Photo: MIA
