Equality of Opportunity in Education and Training - Ministry of Education - Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM)

Ministry of Education

Fully aware of the difficulty of changing the values system, the authorities have been considering measures to increase the number of schoolchildren from minority groups, particularly young girls. Efforts have been made in two directions - a reform to make school more attractive and better suited to children's needs, while preserving minority traditions and religions.

The government has taken measures to improve the coverage of the minorities in secondary education. The Ministry of Education has opened new classes each year and demand has been particularly strong in regions where the ethnic Albanians live. A further difficulty is the demand of young girls from the Albanian minority to attend medical secondary schools, a preference that is explained by a stereotyped image of women. Other measures have also been taken, notably the following:

1. if girls are not authorized to go to the neighbouring town to attend secondary school, the Ministry of Education has opened special classes in the villages in which they live;
2. scholarships have been awarded on the basis of school results and of financial situation, with the preference going to females from the minorities; and,
3. in the elementary schools, psychologists and teachers have been promoting the emancipation of, and providing vocational guidance to, young girls.

Finally, a number of projects have been devised in a various areas, notably focused on discrimination against girls in secondary schools.