Skopje, 13 May 2025 (MIA) - Thirteen academic institutes have been closed, 13 others are closely monitored and we'll see how many will be shut down as well, said Minister of Education and Science Vesna Janevska on Tuesday.

Minister Janevska told reporters that falsified diplomas are an open secret, noting that both sides involved in the crime should be held responsible.

"People with such diplomas talk about this openly in private but this is difficult to prove because both sides are accomplices and should be held responsible for the crime. Nevertheless, there are instruments we can use to check the quality of education in certain university institutions, and we are doing this. There are shortcomings in the law, lack of evaluations by the Agency for quality in higher education. Legislative changes are required in the laws on higher education, the quality agency, research and development, innovations etc. We have already closed 13 academic institutes and 13 others are closely monitored and we'll see how many will be shut down as well. We have also closed one department of medicine, with another one pending closure," said Janevska.

According to her, certain institutes requested closure when the inspection process was launched.

"They were aware about the fact that they did not meet the requirements and were shut down as a result," noted Janevska.

Photo: MIA