Forum: Adequate use of School Resources for Better Quality Education
Join us and engage in a dialogue on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the primary school network
- Available in:
- English
- Македонски
- Shqip
6 July 2023 - Hotel Aleksandar Palace, Skopje
North Macedonia is facing a learning crisis, with students performing below the Western Balkan, EU and OECD averages. Sweeping demographic changes, including declining birth rates, migration and increasing urbanisation without major adjustments to the primary school network, have resulted in some schools having underutilized space and staff. In contrast, other schools are overcrowded and lack teachers, thus, having to organize classes in double and triple shifts – likely impacting learning outcomes. Such changes have led to inefficient and inequitable allocation of resources. Furthermore, a large majority of primary education expenditures go to cover the school staff salary costs, leaving insufficient funds for capital expenditures, updating and keeping facilities in good condition and investing in staff professional development.
Increasing efficiency and effectiveness of the primary education school network, while ensuring equity in school access, has been a challenge for many countries. The forum – a joint effort of the Ministry of Education and Science, UNICEF and World Bank - will bring together policymakers, experts, thought leaders and advocates from Europe and beyond to share comparative experiences, lessons learned and key success factors from school network reorganization in European countries.
Participants will also have the opportunity to network and engage in a dialogue on proposed school optimisation approaches being considered in North Macedonia.
Forum Opening Session
9:30 – 10:00
Opening Remarks:
Mr. Jeton Shaqiri, Minister of Education and Science
Ms. Patrizia DiGiovanni, UNICEF Representative
Ms. Bojana Naceva, Senior Education Specialist, World Bank
Keynote Speaker:
Mr. Luka Boeskens, OECD Policy Analyst
Re-organisation of School Networks – Enhancing Efficiency and Improving Educational Quality
Session 1
10:00 – 11:15
"National Policies on School Network Optimization and their Implementation, including Funding"
Session opening remarks:
Mr. Filip Nikoloski, Deputy Minister of Finance
Panel discussion
Mr. Pedro Abrantes, Professor at Universidade Aberta and ISCTE-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, Portugal
Mr. Wojciech Marchlewski, Consultant for Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions, Poland
Mr. Boyan Zahariev, Director of the "Governance and Public Policies" Program at the "Open Society Institute", Bulgaria
Mr. Jørn Skovsgaard, International Education Policy Adviser, Denmark
Moderator: Ms. Pamela Dale, Social Policy Adviser, UNICEF Europe and Central Asia Regional Office
Takeaways: During this session participants will be able hear about the experience in European countries on policies for optimization of the school network, and their implementation also in terms of optimal financing of school running costs, as well as financing infrastructure and equipment needs related to optimization of school networks.
Session 2
11:45 – 13:00
"Ensuring Efficient Use of Schools' Human Resources and Effective Community Participation"
Session opening remarks:
Mr. Risto Penov, Minister of Local Government
Mr. Alexandru Albu, Head of Section Operations 2, EU Delegation
Panel discussion:
Mr. Alexandre Ventura, Professor and Researcher at the University of Aveiro, Portugal
Mr. Wojciech Marchlewski, Consultant on Education Management, Poland
Mr. Boyan Zahariev, Director of the "Governance and Public Policies" Program at the "Open Society Institute", Bulgaria
Ms. Astrid Mogstad Høivik, Leader of Educational Network Nordmore, Surnadal Municipality, Norway
Moderator: Ms. Zhaklina Lazarevska, President of the Parliamentary Committee on Education, Science and Sport
Takeaways: During this session participants will be able engage in a dialogue on school and community stakeholders’ participation in optimization processes, how to ensure better allocation and utilization of schools’ human resources for improved efficiency and quality, as well as how to attract school staff and requalify of existing staff.
Session 3
13:00 – 14:15
"Adjusting the School Network: Creating Conditions to Better Utilize School Space and Enhance Connections within the Network"
Session opening remarks:
Mr. Orce Gjorgjievski, President of the Association of Local Government Units (ZELS) and Mayor of Kisela Voda
Panel discussion
Mr. Pedro Abrantes, Professor at Universidade Aberta and ISCTE-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, Portugal
Mr. Stancho Stavrev, Local Governance and Education Expert, Bulgaria
Mr. Jørn Skovsgaard, International Education Policy Adviser, Denmark
Ms. Else Brit Gaupset, Education Adviser in Gjemnes commune and Adviser of Oppvekstnetwork Nordmøre Network, Norway
Moderator: Ms. Maida Pasic, Education Adviser, UNICEF Europe and Central Asia Regional Office
Takeaways: During this session participants will be able to engage in a dialogue and learn from practical experience from European countries on merging and/or expanding schools, providing space, transport and adequate environment for transferred students, as well as introducing new social services in the community by repurposing school space.
Meet the experts and panelists
Luka Boeskens is a Policy Analyst in the Policy Advice and Implementation Division of the OECD Directorate for Education and Skills. He joined the OECD in 2015 and, since then, has been working on international reviews of education policy, focusing on education governance, school funding, the organisation of school networks, teacher policy and professional learning. He has co-authored the OECD School Resources Review’s synthesis reports on The Funding of School Education (2017), school infrastructure (Responsive School Systems, 2018) and human resources (Working and Learning Together, 2019). Luka holds an MSc in Sociology and a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Oxford.
Jørn Skovsgaard is an international education policy adviser and founder and owner of the company Counter Current Consult. He is the President of the governing board for the Norwegian Foundation IMTEC – International Movement Towards Educational Change. Currently, Mr. Skovsgaard is a Member of Focus Group 2 in the OECD project ‘Education 2030 – The Future for Education and Skills’. With the Inter-American Development Bank – IADB, he is counseling 10 Latin American education ministers on reform initiatives. He has contributed to the LEGO-Foundation, promoting the concept of ’Learning Through Play’ nationally and internationally. In the past Mr. Skovsgaard was a Senior adviser in the International Unit of the Danish Ministry for Education. He is a longstanding member of the OECD Education Policy Committee (EDPC), Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI) and INES Strategic Management Group – Indicators for Education Systems. Jørn was a project coordinator in ASEM – Asia Europe Meeting LLL Program, developing an in-service training and basic education of adults in Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore. He is a Cofounder of SEAMEO Centre for Lifelong Learning in HCM City, Vietnam and of Singapore Institute for Lifelong Education. Mr. Skovsgaard holds a Medal of Honor in the Cause of Education Vietnam from the Minister for Education and Training Mr. Pham Vu Luan in 2011.
Alexandre Ventura is a distinguished education professional with a wealth of experience. As the former Portuguese Deputy Minister of Education (2009-2010), he currently holds positions as a professor and researcher at the University of Aveiro in Portugal. With notable roles such as Deputy Chief Inspector of Education in Portugal (2007), membership in the Standing International Conference of Inspectorates (SICI), and a tenure as a Senior Inspector for the DSIB at KHDA in Dubai from 2017 to 2020, he possesses a global perspective. Alexandre is highly sought-after as a speaker, consultant, and researcher, specializing in areas such as policy evaluation, teacher assessment, school inspection, and educational administration. His extensive professional experience spans various countries, including the United States, France, Spain, Brazil, Mozambique, Angola, Cyprus, and the UAE.
Pedro Abrantes is Professor at Universidade Aberta and ISCTE-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, Portugal. He holds a PhD in Sociology, working especially on education and inequalities. From 2004 to 2009, he colaborated as an external expert in public policies development and assessment. From 2009 to 2013, he was an invited professor and researcher in Mexico City. Back in Portugal, from 2016 to 2022, he was advisor of the Minister of Education and Deputy Director of DG Education and Science Statistics, being the national representative in EU, UNESCO and OECD committees.
Stancho Stavrev is an expert in the areas of local self-government, education, social protection and culture. He has graduated from the Veliko Tarnovo Universiy in Balkan Studies, specialized in Ethnology, Archives and Museum Studies. He has worked as a history teacher, educator, and a school director. He was a Member of the 45th National Assembly (Parliament). For 13 years he was deputy mayor of Tundzha municipality, and also a municipal councilor there. Currently, he is an adviser on designing and implementing EU-funded programmes and on local policies in the social sphere of the Municipality of Straldzha, Yambol region. He believes that the most meaningful areas of his work are the successful transition of paid to free public kindergartens; the work on guaranteeing equal access to education and childcare, integrated services for children and families; the full-day educational process with free lunches; the decentralized professional education in partnership and close to business; securing free children's dairy kitchen with patronage care coupled with pediatric consultation; the equal access to social services for children and families in small settlements; the transformation of community centers (chitalishte) into social services support centers. For being successful in implementing the above programme, the National Association of Municipalities in Bulgaria honored him with the Best Mayor - Reformer Award, and the Bulgarian Teachers' Union awarded The Best Deputy Mayor – and Best Social Partner.
Boyan Zahariev holds a Master degree in Economics with focus on quantitative and econometric methods and PhD in Sociology with specialization in urban studies from Sofia University. From 2005 until present, he has been Director of the "Governance and Public Policies" program at the "Open Society Institute - Sofia". He has 20 years of experience in managing and implementing programs and projects in the socio-economic field with a focus on the social inclusion of vulnerable groups, research and analysis of educational policies and the labour market. Mr. Zahariev has over 10 years of experience in participating in research teams conducting sociological surveys in various fields and using a variety of analytical methods, incl. quantitative methods and working with large data sets. He has participated for more than 15 years in the evaluation of the impact of policies and programs
Astrid Mogstad Høivik is a municipality leader of Education in Surnad kommune in Norway and has a master’s degree in educational leadership. In addition, she is the leader of Oppvekstnetwork Nordmøre, a network between eight municipalities in Nordmøre at the Northwest coast of Norway. Through network between multiple stakeholders in municipalities, kindergarten, and schools they are using co-creation as a main method to develop next practice in our education system. The network has an active partnership with the Universities of Trondheim - DMMH and NTNU. The network was in 2018 showcase in in the OECD project ‘Education 2030 – The Future for Education and Skills, and they are still a member of Focus Group 2. They have shared work together with partners in ICSEI - International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement in 2019 and ICSEI 2020. One of the important partners are the Norwegian Foundation IMTEC – International Movement Towards Educational Change. She is a member of the national network of the Norwegian municipality organization KS. Further also a member of Samstyringsrådet, a national joint management council regarding digital transformation of education Ministry of Education and Research, representing the small municipalities in Norway.
Else Brit Gaupset is an adviser of Education in Gjemnes kommune in Norway. She is a teacher in early childhood and has for many years been a leader of an outdoor Kindergarten, where the children are more out in the Forest than inside. She also works with children with special needs, and she continues doing it because she likes to be in practice and see what everyday life is in kindergarten. In addition, she is an adviser of Oppvekstnetwork Nordmøre, a network between eight municipalities in Nordmøre at the Northwest coast of Norway. Through network between multiple stakeholders in municipalities, kindergarten, schools and educational psychology service they use cocreation as a main method to develop next practice in our education system. One of their most important partners are the Norwegian Foundation IMTEC – International Movement Towards Educational Change.
Wojciech Marchlewski - cultural anthropologist, sociologist, ethnographer, historian. An expert in the field of: education management at the local level, managing educational institutions, financing education, vocational education. He worked in Bosnia Heregovina, Republic of North Macedonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Ukraine, Poland, Republic of Moldova. He has worked for USAID, Matra, DifiD, GTZ, CIDA, SIDA, DANIDA, EU. He currently works for the Association of Municipalities and Regions of Sweden (SALAR) in Ukraine. He developed a manual for local government authorities in the field of education management in North Macedonia and Ukraine. He is an expert in optimizing the school network. He developed a simulation game "Optimization of the school network"