Student numbers rise in the city of Tetovo as mountain schools remain empty

Tetovo’s schools have enrolled a total of 20 fewer students this year compared with last year. However, the data reveal two contrasting realities: the number of children in Tetovo’s mountainous areas continues to decline, while enrollment in the city’s schools is increasing.

The Education Sector at the Municipality of Tetovo says that three first-grade classes have been formed at the “Cyril and Methodius” Primary School. A request to open an additional class has been made for several years, but the relevant authorities have yet to approve it.

Valedin Ademi from the Education Sector said the institution oversees the high school and the “Cyril and Methodius” Municipal Primary School, where classes are nearly full and the number of students in each is approaching 30. According to him, the Ministry of Education and Science has repeatedly been asked to approve the creation of a new class, but no official notification has been received so far.

The principal of the “Cyril and Methodius” Primary School confirmed that each of the three first-grade classes has 30 students. She recalled that similar requests had also been submitted five years ago, but their rejection means that today’s fifth-grade classes have more than 30 students, significantly hampering the teaching process.

The principal of the “Cyril and Methodius” Primary School, Sihana Kaba Kasami, said that around 82 students have been enrolled and divided among three classes, with 29-30 students in each. She noted that a request had also been submitted in the 2022-2023 school year, when the school had approximately 120 students divided among three classes, or around 40 in each. Despite repeated requests to the Ministry of Education, approval was not granted, and that generation still has 36-37 students per class today.

The situation in the mountain areas is entirely different. The school in the village of Veshallë has closed because no students enrolled this school year. Bozofcë has only three students, Shipkovicë has 10 first-grade students, while Brdec has only five.

Schools in Tetovo’s mountainous areas continue to operate only thanks to their status as “protected schools,” while overcrowded classrooms in the city require an immediate administrative solution. /rtm2