The Association of Historians of the Republic of Macedonia reacts on the occasion of the publication of the History and Society textbook for the 5th grade by the authors Anita Angelovska and Glikerija Ilioska, in which a number of omissions were made, both in terms of content and conceptually, and more erroneous information was stated.

Therefore, we believe that if this textbook is used in teaching, it will cause incalculable damage to the educational process and will have a negative impact on the development of students. It is impermissible in the 21st century for students to get their first knowledge, among other things, in the field of history, from a textbook that is full of wrong information and unfounded findings, the historians say in a statement.

In our reaction, we present only a few of the many shortcomings in teaching topic number 3 in the textbook entitled “Prehistory and History”. We note that these are only part of the remarks that will be integrated into the extensive critical analysis that is being prepared by the Association of Historians of the Republic of Macedonia and that will be submitted to the Ministry of Education and Science in the near future, with a request to withdraw the textbook from use. The same applies to the Concept of Basic Education, the product of which is the textbook itself, which is based on the new curriculum.

Given that the textbook is full of unreliable information, half-truths and nebulous phrases, we believe that it must not be part of the Macedonian educational system, bearing in mind that the Ministry of Education and Science has a legal duty to ensure a quality process of upbringing and education of the students.

Therefore, the Association of Historians of the Republic of Macedonia will as soon as possible submit to the Ministry of Education and Science a detailed critical analysis of the textbook, on the basis of which it will request that it be withdrawn from use and that the entire Concept for Basic Education be re-examined again, a real public debate to start, taking into account the extremely negative consequences, as well as the preparation of the upcoming textbooks. We believe that it is extremely necessary because it is unacceptable to question the future of our children, and thus of the state and the nation.