The “Secondary Plenum,” reacts after a statement by the Prime Minister that said “Party plenums encourage students to protest against the quest for knowledge”. They said they are appalled by the fact that the Prime Minister publicly associated the plenum with a political party and called it “a disaster for society,” and said he had crushed any chances for future dialogue.
“Dear Mr Prime Minister,
Your attitude towards us has been extremely humiliating and your unsubstantiated facts, lies and nebulous comparisons about our education, proves that no one but you is trying to gain political points through our struggle. Yes, the battle between you and our plenum is political, but it is certainly not party orientated.
We would like to point out, even though you are the countries Prime Minister, and you sit on the highest stool, you have no right to call us, the future generation a “catastrophe”. You have publicly insulted our professors, our parents and have accused us of being party affiliated. We honestly pity the fact that our struggle frightens and worries you, but what did you expect? You should know that critical thought is normal in young and healthy people”. Said the “Secondary Plenum”.
Yesterday the Prime Minister in his speech at the Macedonian National Theatre on the occasion of Independence Day said it was worrying that young people were resisting knowledge. The party plenums should be encouraging students to learn rather than to protest against the quest of knowledge, this could be a catastrophe to society.
“External testing in schools was introduced in the country after more than one and a half decade ago where we witnessed a biased assessment in a huge number of teachers and students. The reasons for this are numerous. The root of this issue is the atmosphere that was built up during the transition period which resulted in the destruction of basic moral values and the emergence of the nouveau riche who got rich overnight and do not have enough time to devote to their children. This is why pressure was put on teachers to give children good grades, regardless of their knowledge.” said the Prime Minister.