Janevska: Education must not be used for political interests

Minister of Education and Science Vesna Janevska called for politics to stay out of education, describing the approval of three higher education laws, currently undergoing parliamentary procedures, as an important step toward improving the quality of universities and the ranking of higher education institutions in international rankings.

According to her, education cannot serve as a tool for political gain. Janevska warned that inaccurate information disseminated to secure political points or likes damages the system and makes it more difficult to build a quality education system.

“When politics enters education, I believe the damage affects everyone. Inappropriate information disseminated for the sake of political points or gaining likes causes damage to the education system and hinders quality education,” the minister stressed.

Speaking about the absence of North Macedonian universities from the latest edition of the Shanghai Ranking, as well as the possibility that legal changes could affect the rankings, the minister said she did not expect immediate results or major changes within a short period of time.

“We did not expect that within a period of two years, especially without the new laws, there would be any drastic movement in the Shanghai Ranking. We expect the three laws currently undergoing parliamentary procedures to significantly improve the quality of higher education within a foreseeable period, but also to open up other indicators used not only by the Shanghai rankings but by other rankings as well, so that we can move up those lists,” Janevska said.

Janevska said that the Ministry has so far held a debate with the academic community on the proposed legal solutions. She added that political parties had not submitted any comments or concrete proposals.

Asked about the possible consequences if the laws were blocked in Parliament, she stressed that any comments on specific provisions could be considered during the parliamentary debate, but education must remain outside political calculations.

“Parliament is the place where we will confront all the arguments. If there are comments on specific legal provisions, they will be discussed there. But I will repeat once again: keep the hands of politics away from education. Our young people deserve a quality education, and by adopting these laws we will improve the quality of higher education, which is directly linked to the international rankings of universities,” the minister stressed.