Textbooks delivered to schools, minister expects only minimal complaints about damaged copies
The minister said deliveries finished earlier than before and that any complaints about damaged books should be limited.
Minister of Education and Science Vesna Janevska announced that textbooks for the new school year have already been delivered to schools and that the distribution this year finished earlier than in previous years.
Commenting on the timing of the deliveries, Janevska said: "Students will have textbooks, they have been distributed and are in the schools. For the first time this year we have finished that much earlier before the start of the school year."
Fewer administrative lapses after online training, minister says
Asked whether she expects complaints about damaged books after September 1, the minister admitted some will appear but said she expects them to be rare. "I cannot say that there will be none. Unfortunately, I believe there will be. But I honestly believe that this will be reduced to a minimum and that it will be incidental," she said.
Janevska attributed the improved reporting and ordering of replacement copies to organized online training for school staff over the last three school years. She told journalists that the electronic ordering system has been kept open intentionally to ensure timely and correct procurement.
"The electronic system has been open for a long time because that is the way to be sure the work will be completed properly. Everyone who asked will get and is getting what they requested. Those who did not ask are their responsibility and the Ministry will not assume anyone else's responsibility in the future because for three years we have been running a system that is stable and that provides a stable procurement of textbooks," Janevska said after taking part in the launch of the "E-nauka" portal, presented as a national database for researchers, science and innovation.
Schools, she added, should now have the requested titles on site; the ministry's message is that requests submitted through the established electronic channel will be fulfilled, while omissions by individual schools remain their responsibility.
Photo: press material from the event
