Tomorrow the 2026/2027 school year begins: 238,000 pupils, 433 class sections closed, new pay rise in March 2027
Textbooks have been delivered, 433 class sections were closed, and in March 2027 education staff will receive a new salary increase.
The 2026/2027 school year in the Republic of North Macedonia begins on 1 September 2026 for a total of 238,000 pupils in primary and secondary education. Instruction is scheduled to run until 10 June, while for graduates the school year officially ends on 17 May, Minister of Education and Science, Prof. Dr. Vesna Janevska, reported at today's press conference.
Textbooks on time and savings
The minister emphasized that all required textbooks have already been procured and delivered to schools, and will be distributed to students from the first day of classes. "For the third year in a row, the textbooks have been procured on time in the print runs requested by the schools themselves. The issue of textbook shortages is no longer a challenge. This year 622,000 textbooks were procured and savings of 50 million denars were achieved compared to the period before I took over the leadership of this institution," Janevska stressed.
Janevska clarified that completely new textbooks have been provided for students in first, second, third and eighth grades, as well as for the second year of gymnasium-level education.
In the 2026/2027 school year, 174,000 primary school pupils and 64,000 secondary school students will attend classes, and 14,952 first-graders have been enrolled. Due to the continuous shortage of pupils, 26 branch schools are being temporarily closed. With optimization of the school network, 433 class sections were abolished (222 in primary and 211 in secondary education). "We merged the small and non-functional class sections. Nevertheless, all regularly employed teachers retain their jobs and not a single teacher has been dismissed," the minister explained.
Single-shift instruction has been introduced in 620 of a total of 1,023 school buildings in the country, and capacities are being expanded in another 14 schools in Skopje and in Gradsko. To support students with special educational needs, 1,358 educational assistants have been provided in primary schools and 166 educational assistants in secondary schools.
At the end of her address, Janevska announced that the process of increasing salaries in education continues: in March 2027 all employees in education will receive a new salary increase of between 7.5 and 10 percent, depending on the inflation rate.
Photo: press material from the event
