PIRLS 2006 Encyclopedia

Republic of MacedoniaTanja Andonovska –MitrevskaBojana NacevaBureau for Development of EducationLanguage and LiteracyThe official language in the Republic of Macedonia is Macedonian. However, followingchanges to the Constitution in 2001, regions with predominantly non-Macedonianethnic groups also consider their ethnic languages to be official. All national groups inMacedonia are entitled to primary and secondary education in their mother tongue. TheAlbanian population also has the right to education in Albanian at the university level atthe Faculty of Pedagogy in Skopje and the third State University in Tetovo.In primary and secondary schools, instruction is provided in Macedonian, Albanian,Turkish, and Serbian.Overview of the Education SystemAs a country in transition, the Republic of Macedonia has been working towarddecentralizing its education system and improving quality, equality of opportunities,and efficiency. To accomplish these goals, professional and technical assistance havebeen necessary as well as capacity building in a number of areas. For these reasons, theMinistry of Education and Science developed the Decentralization Concept and madechanges in the legal framework to redefine the roles and functions of the educationsystem. The first phase of the decentralization process was to transfer the responsibilityfor school maintenance to the municipalities, which was implemented beginning in June2005. The second phase entailed transferring teacher employment and salary decisionsto the municipality level, which began in July 2007.The Ministry of Education and Science is responsible for national education policy.These responsibilities include education finance decisions, administration of stateinstitutions, and establishing and monitoring education laws and regulations. Within theMinistry of Education and Science, several entities carry out the duties of the Ministry. TheBureau for Development of Education is in charge of curriculum development, providingprofessional support to schools’ improvement efforts, professional development of schoolstaff, and accreditation of teacher training providers. The Bureau for Developmentof Education is also responsible for external assessment of student achievement inelementary and secondary education. The State Educational Inspectorate supervises legaland regulatory matters at all levels of education and monitors and evaluates the quality257