Skopje, 17 December 2021 (MIA) – New guidelines to help organize joint classes for students learning in different languages of instruction were promoted in Skopje on Friday, as part of the OSCE Mission to Skopje’s efforts to increase integrated education in North Macedonia. Available in Macedonian, Albanian and Turkish, the guidelines help teachers, school principals and municipal representatives plan, realize and evaluate joint classes to improve integration in schools, the Mission said in a press release. The guidelines were developed by the Ministry of Education and Science and the City of Skopje, and supported by the OSCE Mission to Skopje in co-operation with the USAID Youth Interethnic Integration in Education Project, implemented by the Macedonian Civic Education Center. “These joint classes provide opportunities for regular interaction, forging authentic bonds between students coming from different communities. It is especially encouraging that the feedback from the teachers and students involved has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Clemens Koja, Head of the OSCE Mission to Skopje. “Some years ago, even joint extracurricular activities would have perhaps been hard to imagine. However, thanks to the commitment from the institutions, local communities and schools, students are increasingly able to learn in different languages in regular classes,” Koja added. The Minister of Education and Science, Mila Carovska, said that through the support of several other institutions and partner organizations, the Ministry has realized significant achievements related to the promotion of integrated education. "The new concept for primary education, new curricula and learning resources that have been introduced to primary schools in phases, rest on multiculturalism and inter-culturalism as core values. The new guidelines for organizing joint curricular classes are an excellent tool to harmonize the relationships between teachers, students and parents from different communities in our society," said Minister Carovska.