As part of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, on the 11th of February, the Ministry of Education and Science (MES) of North Macedonia joined the international celebrations. The ministry states that its main objectives and priorities are for creating education where every child will be able to reach its potential and develop its affinities, but will also strengthen the gender equality and the multiculturalism.
“Our basic and only goal is to provide each girl and boy a qualitative basic education that serves as a basis for further intellectual and personal development,” said MES.
They stressed that during the current 2020/2021 academic year, a Mathematics and Informatics High School was opened in Skopje, which will serve as a specialized school where talented students will be educated in accordance with special programs in the domains of mathematics, physics, and informatics.
Otherwise, each year, the ministry is granting scholarships for talented students in thesecondary schools i.e. 100 scholarships for talented pupils sportsmen and 100 scholarships for talented pupils in other areas. The monthly amount is 2.970 MKD and is paid for 9 months of the year.
Additionally, MES is granting a one-off payment for all students that will win first place at state contests in any school subject organized by an accredited association of teachers (the amount is 50% of the annual net salary in the country) including one-off payments for won first, second or third place at an international contest in mathematics and sciences (50%, 50% i.e. 30% of the average net salary in the country depending on the won place). Also, a monthly payment is approved for winning a medal at an international science Olympics (a sum of 12.000 MKD is given for 12 months for winning a gold medal, 10.000 for the silver, and 8.000 MKD for the bronze).
The students that will win first place as part of the state contest – a leader in a profession (contests between students from secondary professional schools) also will receive a one-off payment in the amount of 50% of the average salary.
MES state that it will continue in the future to create new policies and to promote the existing ones for the support of talented students in order to allow the complete accomplishment of their potential and stimulation to invest in their own knowledge and abilities in the country’s development.
