Two Parliament committees today approved the petition from parents of high-school students who oppose abolishing written textbooks. The parents will soon be able to begin collecting the 10,000 signatures needed to call a nation-wide referendum.

The parents cite financial difficulties and lack of IT devices as reason why the country can start implementing full online education. Another reason are fears that the Education Ministry, led by far left radical Mila Carovska, will use the process to rewrite history books in line with demands from Bulgaria and Greece, and include radical positions in the social studies textbooks. Students initiated boycotts of classes and with their parents held several protests in the past weeks.