Minister of Education and Science Vesna Janevska, today paid a working visit to the University “Goce Delcev” in Stip, during which a meeting was held with the management of the University and relevant local stakeholders. The focus of the meeting was on the current challenges and directions for improving the quality in higher education, as well as the preparation of new legal solutions.
The Rector of the University, Prof. Dr. Dejan Mirakovski, noted that the meeting was dedicated to key topics in higher education, especially in the context of the announced legal amendments.
“We are honored to have a working meeting today with the Minister of Education and Science, at which we discussed topics in the field of higher education with a focus on improving its quality, in light of the new legal amendments that are being prepared. This is a process that is extremely important for universities and that will enable us to achieve the results that society expects from us – better quality of education and stronger service of universities to society,” said Mirakovski.
Minister Janevska assessed that the meeting in Stip was constructive and fruitful, with open issues related to three key laws that are in preparation.
“We discussed raising the quality of higher education through the preparation of the Law on Higher Education, the Law on Quality in Higher Education and the Law on Scientific Research Activity, with the aim of harmonizing important elements that will contribute to the advancement of universities and the benefit of society, through excellent education of students,” emphasized Janevska.
She pointed out that the academic staff has so far shown high performance and that the Government has taken concrete steps to motivate them.
“We have drastically increased the salaries of university professors and from communication with them I know that they are satisfied. That is one part of the motivation, but an additional motive will be the clearly specified criteria in the new Law on Higher Education, which will have to be met for selection to higher titles,” said the Minister.
Janevska added that the new legal solutions will also emphasize scientific research, publication in relevant international journals and the inclusion of students in the research processes. She recalled that last year, 45 scientific research projects were approved at universities and public institutes, which are ongoing and should contribute to the further development of science, as well as to the formation of startups and innovation hubs within universities.
The working visit was assessed as a significant step towards strengthening the cooperation between the Ministry of Education and Science and the University “Goce Delcev”, with a common goal – improving the quality of higher education and its contribution to social development.
