The Ministry of Education and Science and the Education Development Bureau are continuing to invest in the improvement of digital skills and competencies so that every girl and boy gets equal opportunities for quality education, said Minister of Education and Science Mila Carovska in Monday’s address at the third Western Balkans Digital Summit (WBDS) in Tirana, which is taking place online due to the pandemic.

Minister Carovska said the pandemic has produced additional challenges in the organization of the online learning, highlighting the need for further and faster digitization of schools and the education process, the Ministry of Education and Science said in a press release.

“If we fail to invest in digitization, the closure of schools could result in enormous losses for in the human capital development and have long-term economic and social implications. Therefore, although the crisis is a big stress-test for the education systems, it is also an opportunity for swift adaptation and development of education in accordance with contemporary trends. Online instruction is successfully realized in North Macedonia and 88 percent of pupils are attending it without any problems whatsoever,” said Carovska.

For the purpose of ensuring the development of digital skills in the 21st century, she added, IT education has been introduced as a subject in elementary education.

Carovska also announced that digital skills are also supported through the 21st Century Schools Programme, supported by the British Council.

The ministry and the bureau, while following the new EU Digital Education Action Plan, are drafting new curricula that ensure high-performance digital education through high-quality content, improved infrastructure and teachers’ skills, reads the press release.