North Macedonia education minister addresses rising brutality in school violence

North Macedonia’s Minister of Education and Science, Vesna Janevska, reported that while the volume of peer violence in schools has remained stable at an average of 50 cases per year over the last three years, there is a concerning increase in the brutality of certain incidents.

To address this, the Ministry is strengthening both preventive and punitive mechanisms. Recent legislative changes now require schools to include student well-being, anti-discrimination, and violence prevention activities in their annual programs. Additionally, new legal amendments are being processed that would introduce fines for parents or guardians of children found to have committed peer violence, as well as for those who refuse to cooperate with school services.

Preventive measures include the development of a cyberbullying handbook in collaboration with UNICEF and Telekom, and a peer violence handbook created with Makpetrol. The Ministry is also working with the SEGA Youth Organization Coalition to establish national standards for safe schools and is conducting direct meetings with teachers and parents across various municipalities.