Following the Government’s decision, positive reforms in our country’s education system will commence today, ensuring students have textbooks by September 1. While the implementation of certain aspects of the new curricula for the seventh, eighth, and ninth grades has been postponed, elective subjects, which are seen as crucial for the future of education, remain unaffected, announced Minister of Education and Science Vesna Janevska at Friday’s press conference.

Janevska revealed that after several days of discussions with the Bureau for Development of Education, a temporary solution has been found for students entering seventh grade on September 1. These students will continue using the old textbooks, as the new textbooks based on the updated curricula are not yet completed. The Bureau for Development of Education will create additional materials to address gaps in the existing textbooks.

Emphasizing that students will not be left without textbooks, Janevska remarked, “Unlike in previous years, where the textbook creation, printing, and approval processes were unsustainable and inconsistent, this decision will resolve the longstanding issue of textbook shortages. We have worked tirelessly, maintaining daily communication and meetings with the Bureau for Development of Education to find a solution, and we have finally succeeded.”

Due to the incomplete development of textbooks based on the new primary education curricula, and given that the phased implementation starting in 2021 is set to include seventh graders this year, these students will use textbooks from the old curriculum.

In response to a journalist’s question about the future of creating new textbooks for seventh grade, Janevska stated that the government has instructed the Ministry of Education and Science to halt all procedures related to this process. She confirmed that no textbooks for the seventh grade had been submitted for printing.

When asked whether the postponement of the new concept applies only to the final third of primary education (seventh, eighth, and ninth grades) and what would happen to the earlier grades where it has already been implemented, Janevska assured that continuity in education would be maintained “without sudden changes and transitions.”

“Therefore, we will retain all beneficial elements of the concept. The curricula and programs for the seventh, eighth, and ninth grades will be revised, with integrated subjects like History, Geography, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, and Technical Education being divided. The elective subjects, which are highly valued in the educational system, will remain,” added Janevska.

For subjects such as History and Geography, where students lacked textbooks last year, the Bureau for Development of Education is tasked with developing teaching materials within the next two months.