9.5 CONDITIONS OF SERVICE FOR ACADEMIC STAFF WORKING IN HIGHER EDUCATION

•1 Planning policy

According to State Statistical Office data (SSO, 2019), there is a total of 4,323 university staff members at public and private universities in 2018/19 academic year. 2,060 of them or almost 48 % are women, 3,101 or 72 % are teaching staff, and the remaining 1,222 are supported staff.  As for the scientific qualifications, 71% of the staff (or 3,056) are with PhD, 18,6 % (or 805) have MA/MSC, 7,3% (or 319) specialists and 3,3% (or 143) have a university degree (ibid p.8). 2,751 academic staff members are full time employees, the remaining 1,572 have part-time contract.

The Education Strategy for 2018-2025 and Action Plan notes that “the university lack young staff due to the legal framework and failure to provide funding for new job positions; the student-professor ratio is high” (MOES  2018 p.51). Yet, there is no state official planning policy and/or planning policy document for the academic staff supply and demand in the country. The election of the academics to academic titles is not conditioned on limited total number of academic posts, nor on the number of posts at particular university. According to the Law on Higher Education (Official Gazette 85/2018) Macedonian higher education institutions are autonomous in deciding about the need to employ and hire persons in any academic titles, in selecting the persons and in the defining the requirements of employment and hiring. However, due to the outdated system of funding of higher education, the universities have to get approval for all new employments by the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Financing.  

As part of the quality regulations and the requirements stipulated with a Rulebook on the Norms and the Standards for the Foundation of a higher education institution and for the Performance of a Higher Education Activity that is to be adopted by the National Council, the autonomous higher education institution may be founded if it has ensured the necessary number of academic staff who meet the requirements stipulated for the election to scientific teaching, scientific and teaching titles. The requirement is considered fulfilled if the University or the Autonomous Higher Vocational School has employed full-time staff members who have been elected to scientific teaching, scientific and teaching titles to deliver at least 50% of the instruction hours in the Study Programmes for which the accreditation has been sought (work permit), and at least 10 full-time employed staff members elected to scientific teaching titles for each of the Faculties as part of the University.

Each higher education institution has a systematization of jobs that contains information for all employment positions (teaching and non-teaching staff) and retirements, but also information/projection (given under development component) for the number of the new academic /teaching and non- teaching positions needed. Through the university Rectorate, it is sent to the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Finance for final approval of the new academic/teaching staff positions, as well as to the Ministry of Information Society and Administration (for the approval of the new non-academic/non-teaching staff positions).   

•2 Entry to the profession

Recruitment of new academics in Macedonian higher education is carried out through an open call based on prescribed criteria and procedure. The National Council for Higher Education and Research adopts a Rulebook on the specification of academic titles. The election is conducted by the Teaching and Scientific Council based on general and special conditions. The general conditions are determined by the Law on Higher Education, while the special conditions for selection to titles are determined by a general act of the university, or by a general act of the autonomous higher vocational school. University Senate adopts a Rulebook on the special conditions and the procedure of electing scientific teaching, teaching, scientific and associate titles.

The new Law on Higher Education (Official Gazette 82/2018) allows for recruitment of a Demonstrator as (junior) academic post that is not paid by the state budget, but from the higher education institution revenues. This was meant to be a policy measure for overcoming the shortage of young academic teaching staff that the state universities are struggling with.

A demonstrator assists the teaching process at the first study cycle of the faculty or higher vocational school. S/he may be a student of a second or third cycle of studies with minimum GPA of 8.0 from the first study cycle and at least 180 earned ECTS credits. S/he can be elected for a period of one academic year and a possibility for reelection two more times at the same university unit. A decision for the need of demonstrators at the relevant study program is made by the Teaching Council that sets up a Review Commission consisted of three academic staff members. The election procedure as well as the rights and obligations of a demonstrator in the teaching and educational process are regulated by a general act of the university, of the single higher vocational school or of the university unit. This is the only academic post for which consent from the Ministry of Finance is not required, since the remuneration for elected demonstrators is done from faculty/university revenues.

General conditions/recruitment requirements for the election to the other academic titles in the country are given in the table given below:           

Distinguished scientists, artists, and expert-practitioners may teach certain aspects of the teaching subject regardless of the fulfilment of the requirements for a specialist or expert title.

Distinguished scientists, artists, and expert-practitioners that meet the requirements for election to title, for whom there are no vacancies for election to a scientific teaching title, may also be elected at the university to the title nominal docent or nominal associate professor and may participate in performing higher education activity up to 30% of the regular duties of the respective scientific teaching title. However, persons elected in nominal titles may not be mentors for master or doctoral thesis and may perform a higher education activity only at the university where it has obtained said title (as determined by the Teaching and Scientific Council in accordance with the general act of the university).

•3 Professional status

The rights, responsibilities and obligations of the employees of higher education  and scientific institutions (teaching and research staff) are regulated by the general regulations for labor relations,  the Law on HE and the Law on Science and Research, as well as with the regulations from the General Collective Agreement for the public sector (Official Gazette 10/2008 and 85/2009). Based on State Statistical Office data (SSO, 2018) 2,706 out of the total number of 4,130 academics or 65.5% are full-time employed, while the others have part-time employment contract. The rights, responsibilities and obligations of the non-teaching staff of higher education institutions are regulated by the Law on Public sector Employees, the Law on HE and the Law on Science and Research. Vacation time is also determined by Collective Agreement and general labor legislative and amounts to 26 days.

The Law on Higher education (Official Gazzete 85/2018) “guarantees the intellectual freedom of the members of the academic community and a creative nature of the research and education process as superb values and abilities”. Macedonian academics enjoy the academic freedom that covers “freedom of expression [..] freedom of scientific and research work, application and transfer of knowledge; [..] freedom of implementation of teaching, research, art creativity and applied work, including freedom of publication and public presenting of scientific results of the research results and art achievements, [..] freedom of choice over the study programs, over the content of the teaching subjects, compulsory and elective subjects ratio, of choice of academic literature   [..] of choosing a method of interpretation of the curricula,  freedom of defining conditions and procedures for election and promotion in academic titles [..] , as well as  freedom to be awarded academic titles. The universities have code of ethics.

Although the universities enjoy the academic autonomy, the academic staffing policy is centrally controlled and the universities have to get approval for all new employments by the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Financing. The same procedure applies even in case of filling a vacancy due to termination of employment. Employment contract agreements are allowed under condition that the funds are provided from the state budget and are well planned with the Annual Plan for fulfilling the academic jobs during the fiscal year.  

•4 Salaries

The new Law on Higher education doesn’t regulate the academic staff salaries. As part of the actual costs for implementation of each study program, salaries are embedded into the annual financial plans of the higher education institutions that are the starting point for the state budget allocations. The state universities, their units and the scientific institutes receive funding for salaries from the Ministry of education and Science at the coefficients set by the Ministry for each job position.

The salaries (including the bases for possible salary supplements linked to the growth rate of the living expenses, employee service allowance etc.) are regulated by the Law on Payment of Wages (Official Gazette 70/94, 62/95, 33/97, 50/01, 26/02, 46/02, 37/05, 121/07, 161/08, 92/09, 97/10, 11/12, 145/12, 170/13, 139/14 и 147/15).

The salaries of the academic staff are paid by the State and by the higher education institutions own income. The salaries can significantly vary across the state universities, even across faculties/university units of the same university, since HEIs have additional revenues besides state budget allocation and the institutions retain the right to invest these additional resources to staff salaries. In September, 2019, the Government decided on 5% salary increase for the state university, academic staff employees as well as on additional 10% salary increase starting from January, 2020. The employees of the scientific institutes got a 25% salary increase.

Source: Ministry of education and Science, 2021

•5 Working time and holidays

The academic year starts on October 1^st, and ends on September 30^th the next year. It is divided into two semesters, winter (usually October 1^st-January 15^th next year) and summer (usually February 15^th-June 1^st) or three semesters, with the possibility of teaching in cycles. Exams period lasts three weeks. The beginning and duration of teaching by semesters is determined by the university statute. The higher education institutions keep electronic records for the teaching staff of the instructions rendered. Although the Norms and standards for establishing higher education institutions and performing of higher education activity (Official Gazette no. 33/2003) stipulates up to 8 or 10 teaching hours per week or 240 hours annually the guidance on duties and working time of academic staff is limited and is expected to be changed by the National Council.  Activities of academic staff follow quite closely the academic calendar. Teaching and Scientific Council Adopt a decision for the timetable of work tasks of Professors, Senior Lecturers and Lectures.

•6 Promotion, advancement

Criteria for election to scientific teaching, teaching and associate titles entails the acquired education, the results of scientific and research work; the results and experience in teaching activity and preparation of teaching and research junior staff as well as applied expert or vocational art activity (Article 164 from the Law on HE). The election is conducted by the Teaching and Scientific Council based on general and special conditions. The general conditions are determined by the Law on Higher Education, while the special conditions for selection to titles are determined by a general act of the university, or by a general act of the autonomous higher vocational school.

The university carries out the procedure for promotion and advancement of the academic staff autonomously, by means of a public call and upon the peer review (referat) of the faculty Review Commission [Recenziona komisija]. The election of a full professor (redoven professor) needs to be confirmed by the university Senate. The peer review (referat) is assessment of the overall scientific, expert, pedagogical and other achievements of the candidates against the general and special conditions and requirements for election in the appropriate title and contains proposal for election of the candidate. The election to a title serve as a basis for concluding employment for a definite or indefinite time period. The public universities engage academics mostly full time and with indefinite contracts, while the private universities mostly engage academics part-time or on contractual bases. One person cannot be at the same time elected in scientific-teaching, teaching and associate titles at more than one HEI. The acquisition of titles is gradual. Foreign citizen is also allowed to perform a higher education activity under the conditions determined by the Law.

In a case of/and during the temporary leave of absence period, the person elected in scientific teaching, teaching or associate title have the right to perform a higher education activity for first cycle of studies without financial compensation, has the right to lecture and to mentor for second and third cycle of studies, as well as to perform other higher education activity.

Concluding employment contract refers to the time for which the person is being elected.

• Assistant professors (Docents) and Associate professors at a faculty or art academy are elected for a term of five years;
• A Tenure professor of the faculty/art academy as well as a Professor of the higher education vocational school are employed on indefinite contract and keep the title professor for lifetime;
• Lecturer and Senior Lecturer of the higher education vocational school are elected for a period of 5 years;
• Lector and Senior lector- for a period of 4 years;
• An Assistant is elected for a period of three years with a possibility to be reelected one more time in the same academic title at the same HEI;
• An artistic and expert associate is elected for a term of three years, with the right to re-election for an unlimited number of times.

Employment contract can be terminated if the person is not elected to the proposed higher title, and if s/he is not re-elected to the existing title. Employment contract can be also terminated prior to the term expiry for which the person has been elected,  if it is confirmed thatt for a longer period of time s/he has failed to fulfil the assigned obligations,  has been obstructing the legal and statutory activities of the higher education institution, or has obstructed other members in exercising their rights and duties in the higher education institution, if the conditions based on which the election was made have ceased to exist, and in case of other disciplinary offences. The decision on employment termination before the term expiry is made by the Teaching and Scientific Council by a two-thirds majority of the total number of members, pursuant to a report compiled by a three members committee consisted of tenure professors. The person have the right to an appeal first to the body in charge for the election and then to the University Senate that makes a final decision.

•7 Retirement and pensions

Normally tenure professor retires at age of 65. However, pursuant to the Article 187 of the Law on Higher education (Official Gazette 82/2018) the person elected to scientific teaching or teaching title, can retain and extent the employment contract until the end of the academic year when s/he reach the age of 67. A retired tenure professor may teach third cycle studies and be a mentor of doctoral studies, as well as work on a scientific and research project under the conditions determined by the university Statute.