Equal access to quality education for students of all ethnic communities is the objective of an EU-funded twinning project "Supporting Integration of Ethnic Communities in the Educational System", which was officially launched Tuesday in Skopje primary school "Zivko Brajkovski".

The year-long project has started in July and is planned to be carried out in schools with mixed ethnic backgrounds. The EU has provided EUR 1.085.296 and this is the third project to be financed within the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA).

"The goal is to further improve the integration of ethnic communities in the society. Activities will be conducted by the Ministry of Education and Science together with an Austrian agency as its partner. In addition to trainings for principals, teachers and school staff in relation to integrated education, the project will also enable them to introduce innovative methods in classes. It will be entirely based on the experiences of the Austrian agency and in accordance with EU's best practices," Minister Pance Kralev said.

The Head of the EU delegation to Macedonia, Aivo Orav in his speech said that the EU had noted in its Progress Reports a persisting practice of separating pupils along ethnic and language lines in the educational system.

"Education cannot function as a cohesive force for the society if children of different ethnic backgrounds grow up in mutual indifference and ignorance about each other. This project will help the Ministry of Education in its effort to support the children from all ethnic communities in accessing quality education... Educational inclusion must be equitable and disregard any particular child's background. Any form of disability, gender, belonging to an ethnic or religious community or disadvantaged socio-economic background must not hinder access to quality education. A well educated child is meant to be a good, capable and responsible citizen," Orav stressed.