Skopje, 29 June 2025 (MIA) -- In Minister of Education and Science Vesna Janevska's first year in office, students received textbooks on Sept. 1, teachers received raises, and construction and reconstruction works began on seven new schools and over 20 other education facilities, she told a press conference Sunday.

"The lack of textbooks was the first challenge we faced but we overcame it despite the short deadline. We printed and delivered the already approved ones and we also developed new textbooks and teaching materials for primary education subjects that were lacking textbooks until then. We also printed over 100 new titles for secondary education," Janevska said, adding that procedures were under way to also provide foreign language textbooks in September.

The education minister said teachers would continue getting pay increases.

"We decided on a gradual and real increase of teachers' salaries over the next four years. They have already received 12% raises. University professors received 14% raises in January," she said.

Speaking about investments into infrastructure, Janevska said two billion denars have been allocated to building seven new schools and four school gyms as well as renovating 20 other educational facilities and two dormitories in Skopje.

She said over 50 schools would soon receive photovoltaics, too.

She also announced plans to build the campuses of Skopje's Mother Teresa University and Shtip's Faculty of Medicine.

"Science is our focus, because without science, there is no developing the state. We doubled the budget for scientific research and now it is 680 million denars," Janevska said.

She also said the research databases Web of Science and Scopus were now free for state university faculty and students to access. mr/