The "St. Kliment Ohridski" Pedagogical Faculty in Skopje marks three decades of work in higher education, although we can speak of a continuity longer than seven decades, since post-war Macedonia, from the establishment of the Higher Pedagogical School in 1947 in Skopje.
Thanks to all those who have prepared future teachers over the years and to those who have subsequently practiced the teaching profession in Macedonia and laid the foundations of the state, said the Minister of Education and Science, Vesna Janevska, at the Solemn Academy on the occasion of the jubilee.
"Quality education is based on good teachers. You can have the best curricula and classrooms equipped with modern tools, but if there are no good teachers to bring them to life, there is no quality education. Therefore, the Faculty of Pedagogy has an irreplaceable role as an educational institution," Janevska emphasized.
Three institutes operate within the faculty: for preschool education, for the grade group, and for librarianship, while first, second, and third cycle studies are carried out.
Minister Janevska emphasized that for the new reality, shaped by digital transformation and technological innovations, teachers are needed who, in early childhood, lay strong foundations for learning, knowledge, thinking, as well as other social skills, which will then be developed and advanced during the educational process.
"Reform existing programs. The accreditation board will support you and the evaluation board will help you identify challenges. We need to improve all segments of the education system quickly if we want to increase quality. We need to strengthen the capacities of educators and classroom teachers, while the Faculty of Education should be involved in the process of their training and professional development," the minister emphasized.
During the panel discussion organized on the occasion of the jubilee, Minister Janevska stated that our education as a whole has room for improvement, and to this end, reforms are underway that include changing curricula and training for teachers.
"Our children are no less capable than their European peers to be at the bottom of international test tables. That is why we will extend the time they spend in school, and this will be used to develop knowledge and skills comparable to those that students in Europe have. To prepare teachers to move from simple lecturers of facts to guides and partners in the learning process, they will undergo necessary training, including in reading comprehension," Janevska emphasized.
"To prepare teachers to move from lecturers of facts to guides and partners in learning, they will undergo the necessary training, including reading with meaning," Janevska emphasized.
New concepts are being prepared for secondary school and artistic education, which will be followed by new curricula, new textbooks, new state matura exam programs, and when experiences are gathered, a new Law on Secondary Education will be adopted.
In higher education, which has low efficiency measured on the basis of pass rates and timely completion of studies, mechanisms for quality assurance according to European standards will be strengthened, through the advancement of assessment and accreditation agencies, while universities should focus on improving the relevance of study programs.
