Bitola university reports about 10% increase in freshmen, rector says

The University "St. Clement of Ohrid" (UKLO) in Bitola has recorded a noticeable rise in first‑year enrolments, the rector said at the institution's opening academic session. According to university leadership, freshmen numbers grew by about 10 percent over the past year and could be up to 25 percent higher compared with three years ago.

Rector highlights trends amid falling high‑school graduate numbers

"Over one year the number of enrolled freshmen at the University 'St. Clement of Ohrid' (UKLO) in Bitola has increased by 10 percent, and in the last three years it could even climb to 25 percent," Professor Dr. Igor Nedelkovski said at the first academic hour.

Nedelkovski added that the university has seen a sustained rise in first‑cycle (undergraduate) admissions for the third consecutive year despite a national decline in the number of high‑school graduates.

"I share the satisfaction that for the third consecutive year we have an increased number of students in the first cycle undergraduate studies, while the number of high‑school graduates is constantly decreasing. This year, for the first time in Macedonia, we had fewer than 15,000 graduates, and we managed to increase the number of freshmen by about 10 percent, maybe it will be larger. Due to the great interest we also have a fourth extraordinary enrollment period," Nedelkovski said.

The rector framed the extra enrolment round as a response to strong demand from applicants. University officials did not release a discipline‑by‑discipline breakdown in the statement, but underscored continued efforts to attract students even as the national cohort of graduates contracts.

Photo: UKLO / Facebook