Macedonia parliament endorses draft laws on education

Macedonian legislators endorsed on Wednesday the draft laws on education including the introduction of a new state examination for university graduates and requirement of professors to publish papers in international academic journals, Macedonian international agency reported.

The introduction of external, state-supervised exams for graduates is resisted severely by students and professors. Several mass protests have been staged since the reform has been proposed late last year.

The opposing side argued that this would revoke and discredit the ability of the educational institutions to determine grading methodologies on their own and inflict academic autonomy.

Nevertheless the authority believed that it is necessary to supervise the education quality to prevent the scenario that students get a diploma without possessing sufficient knowledge.

The newly-designed exam will be a subject of one-year trial period upon an initiative of the Skopje University. Macedonian ministry of education and science adopted a proposal, put forward by the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, on implementing a pilot project for the state exam in the run up to its official introduction.

"This amendment is acceptable for both the ministry and the government. The ministry and the board for accreditation and evaluation will decide in the upcoming period which faculties, universities and curriculums should be part of the pilot-project," Macedonian minister of education and science Abdulaqim Ademi said at today's parliamentary session. Enditem.