Instead of the 200 students projected for enrollment, only 164 were enrolled during the first two enrollment periods. The most pronounced difficulty is in the transport-related programs. In the “Road Transport” and “Freight Forwarding” profiles, only 8 students each have enrolled, while the minimum set by the Ministry of Education is 12 students for one class.

“From the decisions we received this year from the Ministry of Education, it is stated very clearly that for a class to survive, the number must be 12 students, so with these student statistics we risk having nearly three classes disappear if some decision is not changed by the Ministry of Education, if they do not show understanding. I would appeal to the Ministry of Education because it holds the key to the functioning of the classes. It is a bit of a problem because the Ministry of Education counts the second period as the final one, and that is where the classes are cut. We also have another period on August 20,” said Kastriot Kasapi, teacher at the QSHA “Boro Petrushevski” vocational school.

According to Kastriot Kasapi, the closure of these classes would also bring consequences for the educational staff. He says the lack of students threatens the teaching hours allocation for both vocational subject teachers and those teaching general subjects.

“A vocational subject teacher has 3 or 4 hours a week. Imagine one program not existing, let us take freight forwarding as an example, there the teaching hours allocation becomes impossible and they may even lose their jobs. Not only vocational subjects but also general subjects: history, English, mathematics, Albanian language, in a word, all of us are extremely at risk,” said Kastriot Kasapi, teacher at the QSHA “Boro Petrushevski” vocational school.

On the other hand, school director Aleksandar Strezov says that student interest has been concentrated more in machinery and in four-year profiles. At the same time, he is asking the state to provide more financial support for vocational education.

“The machinery program, traditionally this year as well, both the three-year and the four-year one, attracted greater interest from students, while the transport program had somewhat less interest, but this is the overall number. Some programs require major investments, especially in laboratories. We are trying to achieve this in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, but also with sponsors. However, I can say that there is still a great need for funding in vocational secondary schools,” said Aleksandar Strezov, director of the QSHA “Boro Petrushevski” vocational school.

The August 20 deadline is seen as the last opportunity for new enrollments, but only semi-graduates who have make-up exams can take part in it. Vocational school administrators assess that the only way to save classes with low student numbers remains a decision by the Ministry of Education, if it lowers the required student threshold per class. /Alsat.mk

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According to specialists, these warning signs should not be ignored, while coordination between school and family remains essential to preventing violence among peers. Psychologist Safet Ballazhi says that one of the most serious problems is the lack of responsibility among some parents, who, according to him, often choose to defend their children even when they display violent behavior, instead of cooperating with the school to resolve the situation.

“Even in schools themselves, when we speak with teachers, they say there is no punishment of any kind. Sometimes when teachers identify a student as problematic and talk to the parents, the parents not only do not punish the child, but they even encourage them and attack the teachers, asking who they are to do this or that. We live in the time of the syndrome, ‘Do you know who I am?’ Now, if a child sees from the side that their parents or other adults function in that way, they simply adopt it and behave in the same way: I am strong, I can do whatever I want, I have this or that father. Naturally, then we are not guided by real values, but by the law of the strongest,” said Safet Ballazhi, psychologist.

On the other hand, the Chamber of Psychologists underlines that teachers and professional associates must notice changes in students in time, because these may signal that a child needs support.

“A child with good academic performance until a few months ago, last year, or when they finished the first semester, who suddenly begins to see a decline in performance, comes in sleepy, improperly dressed and tired, these are the main signs showing that something is happening to them,” emphasized Emilija Boshkovska from the Chamber of Psychologists.

Education Minister Vesna Janevska also reiterated that without the involvement of the family there can be no effective response to violence among peers. She added that many of the cases are linked to neglect of children and a lack of upbringing in the family. According to Janevska, institutions will continue meetings and awareness-raising activities with parents and schools, while at the same time stricter measures will be implemented to address this phenomenon. Also remaining in parliamentary procedure are legal amendments that provide for financial fines for the parents and guardians of children who are found to have committed peer violence at school./Alsat.mk.

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