6.1 ORGANISATION

•1 Types of institutions

General Upper Secondary Education

Secondary education is provided in the secondary schools that are organized as public secondary schools and private secondary schools. Public secondary schools (gymnasiums) can be municipal secondary schools, secondary schools of the City of Skopje and state secondary schools. State secondary schools are established only for the realization of secondary plans and programs for education of certain categories of students for whom the state has a special interest.

The educational activity in the secondary school is conducted in Macedonian language and Cyrillic alphabet. For members of communities attending classes in a language other than Macedonian and his Cyrillic alphabet, educational activity in public secondary schools is performed in the language and alphabet of the appropriate community (on Albanian, Turkish or Serbian language). Teaching in public secondary schools can also be conducted in one of the world's languages. In private secondary schools, instruction can also be given in a foreign language.

Vocational Upper Secondary Education

Secondary vocational education follows after primary education and is aimed at acquiring knowledge, skills and practices from the area of sciences which have applicable practical value. Its objective is to prepare students for labour market, but also for continuation of their education.

Vocational education and training institutions are:

• Vocational education and training schools, providing general and vocational-theoretical education and practical training, and
• Vocational training centers providing vocational-theoretical education and practical training.

Vocational education and training schools is structured as:

• technical education (four years VET schools);
• vocational education for occupations (three years VET schools);
• vocational skilling (two years VET schools).

Technical education lasts four years and prepares students for employment in a broader profile of occupations in all areas of labour and also for continuation of their education. It is offering teaching plans and programs for 50 educational profiles in 14 occupational areas that ends with a State Matura or Final Exam. The State Matura facilitates entry into higher education, and the Final Exam into the labour market.

Vocational education for occupation, which is intended to meet the needs of the economy, lasts for three years. Vocational education for occupation can be carried out in vocational education and training school and practical training could be carried out in the school and in the employer place. With the completion of this secondary vocational education for occupations students will acquire the second level of professional qualifications.

Vocational skilling is proposed for working with lower requirements which provides practical knowledge and skills for different fields of work. Duration of vocational training programme depends on the complexity of the occupation, and is up to two years. By completing vocational skilling, students gain the first level of professional qualifications. Students with completed vocational skilling of at least one year of duration can continue their education in the second year in the appropriate vocational education for occupation. Vocational skilling can be also organized in the vocational training centers.

Secondary education for students with special educational needs include students who are recorded and sorted by type and extent of developmental disabilities. For these students, an inclusive team is formed in the upper secondary school from the pedagogist or psychologist in the school, the teacher of the student, the parent or the student's guardian, defectologist and if needed, the student’s doctor may also be involved. The inclusion team prepares an individual education plan for each student. In secondary education for students with special educational needs, students are educated according to conformed programs for appropriate occupations, i.e. educational profiles or for work training. Depending on the compliance with the appropriate occupational or educational programs’ profiles, students with special educational needs can take a state graduation exam or final exam. The way of enrolling students with special educational needs in upper secondary schools is determined by the Minister of Education and Science, upon proposal of the Bureau for Development of Education. Closer regulations on the number of students with special educational needs in groups are adopted by the Minister of Education and Science.

Post-Secondary Non-Tertiary Education

This education tier is regulated with a special Concept for Post-secondary Education, adopted in 2010, which defines post-secondary education, due to its specific character and diverse learning pathways, as an integral part of lifelong learning and of the system for vocational education and training. It is aimed at developing human capital, establishment of knowledge-based economy, strengthening individual and social productivity, economic development of the country, improvement of the quality of life, full social participation, employment and employability and professional development and mobility.

Post-secondary education as an education tier facilitating new competences and finalizing highest level professionalism in an immediate operational environment, gains on importance due to its tight links with the economy and labour market. In this context, it aims at providing in-depth knowledge, skills and skilling for work which require more complex and sophisticated technology, for specialised higher quality services, for organisation of work processes, for first-level managerial functions, for instructional and mentoring work, etc. It provides learners with more complex competences, and higher level abilities for making operational decisions and higher level of personal and business accountability.

Depending on the specificities of the occupations it supports, the necessary prior education and work experience, and the way it functions, post-secondary education is categorized into the following types:

• technological specialization;
• supervisory specialization;
• instructional specialization;
• specialization for autonomous profiles;
• master’s qualification, and
• training for acquisition of part of an integral qualification or acquisition of partial competences.

Enrolment follows the completion of four-year or three-year vocational education and minimum of two-year work experience; the programme takes into account the necessary educational and staffing requirements and ends in a Specialist or Master Exam.

The duration of post-secondary education which leads to an integral qualification varies between 400 and 800 lessons of theoretical and practical teaching, distributed over one to two years.

Graduates of post-secondary education orient themselves either to the labour market or higher education institutions where they continue their education. They also have the possibility to take part in the acquisition of another specialization from the same of from another occupational area.

Post-secondary non – tertiary education is realizing into the Centers for adult education where the vocational and vocational training programs for part time students are implementing.

•2 Geographical accessibility

General Upper Secondary Education

The total number of secondary schools is 132 out of them 117 are public secondary schools and 15 are private secondary schools. They are geographically distributed all over the country and are under the responsibility of municipalities. In the capital city of Skopje, the responsible authority for public secondary schools is the City of Skopje covering the area of 7 municipalities. In the majority of the schools, at the same premises are organized general upper secondary education and vocational upper secondary education.

All full-time students from urban and rural areas have a right of free transportation, if the place of residence is at least 2.5 km far from the secondary school in which the student is enrolled. Free transportation and free accommodation in dormitories are provided for students enrolled in the schools out of their place of residence.

Vocational Upper Secondary Education

There are 73 public vocational schools and 4 vocational training centers. They are geographically distributed all over the country and are under the responsibility of municipalities. In the majority of the schools, at the same premises are implementing the teaching plan and programs for general secondary education and vocational secondary education.

All full-time students from urban and rural areas have a right of free transportation, if the place of residence is at least 2.5 km far from the secondary school in which the student is enrolled. Free transportation and free accommodation in dormitories are provided for students enrolled in the schools out of their place of residence. The student with special educational needs and the person accompanying him / her are entitled to free transportation regardless of the distance of their residence to the public secondary school in which the student is enrolled and attends classes.

•3 Admission requirements and choice of school

General Upper Secondary Education

Free access to the secondary education programs, under the same conditions, and the selection of the admission candidates is based on the principle of equality of all candidates, regardless of race, skin color, sex, language, religion, political or other convictions, ethnic, national or social origin, property, birth, social status, disability, sexual orientation and age. Under the same conditions the access to the secondary education is allowed also to the foreign citizens, without Macedonian citizenship.

Enrollment in the public secondary schools is based on the public Call for enrollment of students in the first year in the public secondary schools, announced by the Ministry of Education and Science, no later than 31^st March every year. Admission requirements are published in the Call for enrollment and they are based on the provisions of the Law on Secondary Education. The criteria for admission of the full-time students in the first year in the public secondary schools are:

• Applicants can not be older than 17 years
• Applicants to have completed primary education.

Applicants older than 17 years can be enrolled as a part – time students in the first year. Enrollment in the second, third or fourth year of secondary studies can be done for part – time students, based on justified reasons included in the statute of the school.

Vocational Upper Secondary Education

Vocational education schools enroll full-time and part-time students who have completed elementary education. For enrollment in the four and three years vocational education and training schools the students must have completed primary education and not to be older than 17 years for full-time student or to be older than 17 years for part-time student.

Students without completed elementary education are included in vocational training up to two years education, but in the meanwhile until vocational training is completed, the prescribed program for elementary education must be finalized.

Public secondary art schools enroll students in fine arts, music and ballet art, that completed primary education. Talented students with incompleted primary education can also be enrolled in secondary art schools, with the prior approval of the Ministry of Education and Science, with the obligation to simultaneously complete primary education.

Students with special education needs can be enrolled in the first year of secondary education for students with special educational needs if they are not older than 25 years.

•4 Age levels and grouping of pupils / students

General Upper Secondary Education

Entering age of students in the secondary education is between 14 and 15 years. The educational activity in the secondary schools is organized and conducted in classes, groups and individually. In public secondary schools the number of students in the class cannot be less than 25 and greater than 34 students. A class may also be formed with a smaller number of students, after obtained consent from the founder, and prior approval by the Minister of Education and Science.

Vocational Upper Secondary Education

Entering age of students in the secondary education is between 14 and 15 years. The educational activity in the secondary schools is organized and conducted in classes, groups and individually. In public secondary schools the number of students in the class cannot be less than 25 and greater than 34 students. A class may also be formed with a smaller number of students, after obtained consent from the founder, and prior approval by the Minister of Education and Science.

•5 Organisation of school year

General Upper Secondary Education

The educational process in secondary education is organized as a school year, beginning on 1st September and ending on 31st August the following year. The school year is structured into 2 semesters: fall and spring semester. Between two semesters there is winter break in the duration of 3 weeks. After the spring semester there is summer break. The teaching process within school year lasts 38 weeks, or as an exception 36 weeks in the final last year of studies. There are 180 working days in a school’s year annually. Upon decision of the Ministry of Education and Science, the school year may be reduced down to 100 working days in extraordinary situations, like as natural disasters, epidemy, etc.

Additional activities are so called “free activities” which are performed out of the curriculum/syllabus and generally these activities are more complex. These are defined by the annual programmes of the school. The annual programme of the school is approved by the municipality/local authorities/council of the municipality. The associations of teachers may organize competitions for students (by topics: sports, subjects oriented, art, etc.; by area: local/municipality, regional, national). There are two types of activities that can be organized during the holidays such as: thematic summer schools and thematic winter schools.

Vocational Upper Secondary Education

The educational process in secondary education is organized as a school year, beginning on 1st September and ending on 31st August the following year. The school year is structured into 2 semesters: fall and spring semester. Between two semesters there is winter break in the duration of 3 weeks. After the spring semester there is summer break. The teaching process within school year lasts 38 weeks, or as an exception 36 weeks in the final last year of studies. There are 180 working days in a school’s year annually. Upon decision of the Ministry of Education and Science, the school year may be reduced down to 100 working days in extraordinary situations like as natural disasters, epidemy, etc.

•6 Organisation of the school day and week

General Upper Secondary Education

In secondary schools there are five working days in a school week from Monday to Friday. Once in a week, during these five working days, the school may organize additional activities and additional instruction classes (for low attainment students) and extra-curricular activities (for best attainment students).

Depends of the number of enrolled students, usually the educational process is organized in two shifts morning and afternoon. The number of lessons may vary between 6 and 7 lessons daily. This is defined by the curriculum for the secondary education. Between second and third lessons there is the lunch break of 30 minutes. Duration of one teaching hour is 45 minutes in upper secondary education.

Depending of the shifts, the school may organize additional instruction classes (for low attainment students) and extra-curricular activities (for best attainment students) before or after the lessons.

5 days school week

Vocational Upper Secondary Education

In secondary schools there are five working days in a school week from Monday to Friday. Once in a week, during these five working days, the school may organize additional activities and additional instruction classes (for low attainment students) and extra-curricular activities (for best attainment students).

Depends of the number of enrolled students, usually the educational process is organized in two shifts morning and afternoon. The number of lessons may vary between 6 and 7 lessons daily. Teaching classes in vocational schools last for 45 minutes and practical classes and tutorials in enterprises, institutions and shops, last 60 minutes. Between second and third lessons there is the lunch break of 30 minutes.