The Education Ministry said it will propose a plan for the next school year in two weeks. Schools closed in March, as the coronavirus began to spread, and the remainder of the school year was conducted with hastily improvised online learning. With infection and mortality rates in Macedonia the worst in the Balkans, many parents and teachers are unwilling to go back to the classrooms in September.

By August 10 we will provide all the necessary information. There is no need to panic, we have models which need to be aligned and nothing will be missed, said Deputy Education Minister Elizabeta Naumovska.

She said that the focus the plan will put focus on physical presence of children in the classrooms, and schools will be handled on a case by case basis. “So long as there is slightest possibility to safely hold in person teaching, we will make efforts to do so because nothing can replace direct communication”, Naumovska said.

Vesna Janevska from VMRO-DPMNE party said that there is no need to close schools in places that are not affected by the epidemic. She pointed to a number of smaller cities with no coronavirus cases and said that there is no reason that schools should remain closed in Berovo or Delcevo.