The Education Minister’s announcement that at least 3,000 fewer students will enroll in first grade during this school year represents the strongest criticism of the government’s policies, the PLD says. According to the party, this indicator is not merely a statistic, but an alarm signal that Macedonia is being emptied at a rapid pace.

The PLD asks who will attend schools in the future if the country has thousands fewer children every year, while the minister is trying to present the state graduation exam as an achievement.

The party stresses that it cannot be claimed that the education system is successful at a time when schools are being left without students and young people continue to leave the country.

According to the PLD, misguided policies, economic insecurity, a lack of trust in institutions and a lack of vision are the direct causes of the demographic decline. Every year with a lower number of first-grade students means fewer young people, a smaller workforce and a weaker future for Macedonia, the statement emphasizes.

The party adds that this issue cannot be reduced to an ordinary figure in a report.

At the end of the statement, the PLD calls for the urgent drafting of a national strategy for demographic renewal and support for young people. At the same time, it calls for the adoption of concrete measures that would create conditions for citizens to remain in their homeland and build their future there./Telegrafi/

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According to the Liberal Democratic Party, the regional tour that also included Moldova and Romania served to expose the lowest point of our diplomacy, a reality that could otherwise have gone unnoticed.

PLD emphasizes that while Chișinău and Bucharest managed to sign specific memorandums, securing new markets for farmers and negotiating concrete investments in pharmaceuticals, information technology, and logistics, our highest state representatives welcomed the president of India with a protocol folk ceremony, the inauguration of a bust, and costly diplomatic banquets.

Commenting on the situation, PLD chairwoman Monika Zajkova stated: “The bitter reality is devastating: while Moldova and Romania are striking deals that will strengthen state budgets and increase citizens’ incomes, Macedonia is spending public money on official lunches and dinners, without achieving a single signed agreement.”

She added that in the face of a lack of concrete results, “officials are trying to pull the wool over the public’s eyes with fairy tales about a 400-million-dollar ambition in trade exchange.”/Telegrafi/

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According to them, the Zoo has been facing a سلسلة of unpleasant incidents since the beginning of the term of former mayor Danella Arsovska.

They recall that Skopje Zoo has turned into a place where horses intended as food for the zoo were slaughtered, with blood spilled on Ilinden Boulevard, while animals have continually died under unclear circumstances. Among them, they mention giraffes, an elephant, an imperial eagle, the lion Zika, then the rare and protected Przewalski’s horses, Barbary sheep, as well as an outbreak of bird flu.

After several hours of pursuit by the staff, the wolves were returned to their areas, but the Zoo did not inform anyone about this event, even though it is a place with many visitors, where their safety could be called into question,” PLD said.

They are demanding that the management of the Zoo and the City of Skopje explain the incident, clarify whether the animal habitats, especially those that pose a threat to life, are properly secured, and close the zoo to visitors until the case is clarified and responsibility is determined./Telegrafi/

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Speaking from the Assembly podium, PLD president and MP Monika Zajkova said today that the decision is not about the interests of the banks, but about determining whether the representatives are on the side of the citizens or on the side of bank profits.

She stressed that the PLD has been raising this issue for three years, continuously warning that it is not normal for citizens to face ever-higher fees while banks post record profits.

Zajkova added that for three years, only justifications have been heard, while citizens continue to face new costs.

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In a statement to “TV24,” Zajkova said these figures clearly show the existence of a problem which, according to her, is being driven by certain factors. She assessed that even if perfect regulations are adopted, without preventing the phenomenon and without opening a debate on the prevention system and on the sources that feed this phenomenon, a reduction in the number of cases cannot be expected. On the contrary, according to her, there will be a further increase in the figures, despite the fact that progress has so far been recorded in a large part of the legislation.

She added that Macedonia is among the states that have ratified and are implementing the Istanbul Convention. Zajkova stressed that, unlike some European countries that still have not ratified this Convention, the country has built a strong legal basis for dealing with violence, although, as in the case of any other law, it should be continuously improved in line with needs and experience./Telegrafi/

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