1
ROMA EDUCATION PROGRAM 
FOSI-Macedonia 
 
E V A L U A T I O N R E P O R T 
(For the Academic year 2008 – 2009) 
Zoran Velkovski, PhD 
Institute of Pedagogy, Faculty of Philosophy, Skopje 
Skopje, 2009 
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C O N T E N T 
Executive summary………………………………………………… 3 
Program Description and background…………………………… 7 
Pre-school component……………………………………………… 12 
Primary school component…….………………………………….. 16 
Secondary school component……………………………………… 25 
University component……………………………………………… 40 
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 
Key Evaluation Conclusions 
The pre-school component: 
This research showed that the increase in the percentage of children who continue into the formal 
education system is an argument that the RECs entirely fulfill their task in the increasing of 
competencies of pre-school children and their preparation for timely commencement of the 
compulsory education. 
The primary school component: 
The project demonstrated success in retaining the high completion rate of 90 % among the 
regular REC attendees. However, this rate is lower that the one achieved in the course of last 
year. This decline is in line with the general downward trend in all project primary schools 
resulting from the introduction of external testing (not only among Roma students, but generally 
among all students); the number of repeaters and of drop-outs has increased at the school level. 
In addition to the financial reasons, the educational handicap of the parents, the persistent strong 
influence of traditional values, the low awareness level on the significance of education, the 
increased number of REC beneficiaries could also be listed as a reason for the decreased 
completion rate among primary school students participating in the Program. The number of 
children covered by direct education support in the centers has increased in comparison to 
previous years, reducing the time that the REC devotes to the students, i.e. the individual support 
that each beneficiary of the RECs should enjoy. 
It is evident that the REC students show better results when compared to other Roma students, 
which is a testimony to the fact that the RECs perform well their tasks. However, the average 
student achievement still cannot go above grade 3, which is expectable having that the low￾achieving students are the direct project beneficiaries. Such an achievement rate increases the 
students’ vulnerability in regard to their further education. This weakness will become more 
pronounced when students enroll into secondary education. Preventive action must be taken. A 
combination of institutional solutions (REC Centers) with an aggressive intervention in the non￾formal sector (in families and local self-governments) through educational and informative 
campaigns might improve the Program and bring about better results. 
The secondary school component 
The results point to a high rate of completion of 99% among the students in third year of 
secondary education. Given that this is a new group of students in third year of the four-year 
secondary general and vocational education, who have been selected according to their 
achievements form previous years, i.e. they were required to have at least a grade 3 average 
achievement rate, it can be assumed that this high rate of completing the school year is a result of 
the selection that encompassed “good” students. However, in light of the downward trend which 
has been indicated in primary and secondary education in relation to the decline of the average 
achievement rate of students and the increase in drop-out and repetition of the school year among 
all other students, the huge impact the REP has achieved on the successful completion rate of 
this group of students in undeniable. 
A testimony to this statement is, among other things, the Government measure of providing all 
secondary education first year Roma students with scholarships starting from the 2008/09 school 
year, as well as the announced intervention for scholarships and mentoring in specific subjects 
4
for all Roma secondary school students from years 1 to 3 as of the 2009/2010 school year. This 
decision to integrate the REP secondary education component into the system is the best 
indicator of success of the REP, which has been verified as an intervention that brings about 
results. 
 The university component: 
The main goal of the is being continuously and successfully achieved and the objectives set in 
the Program have been realized in full. 
The Program objectives: To provide tutor support for the Roma university students from 
Macedonia who are in need; To ensure supplementary academic support to advance the students’ 
learning capacities; To provide open opportunities for small-size students’ initiatives and 
projects, and To make other services available to all Roma students by maintaining the education 
hub (located in the centre of Skopje), by providing PC- and Internet access and by providing 
access to primary and secondary academic literature as well as other sources of information, 
have been achieved in full.
As regards the learning, the students are progressing successfully within their potentials. What 
characterizes them are their high level of motivation and their resolve to successfully complete 
their studies. The problems that emerge and that might impede the learning and the overall 
progress of the students are strong deterrents and reflect themselves negatively on the success of 
the students, but are yet not strong enough to dissuade them from studying. 
The tutorship system is operating with success and has proven itself to be a good solution for 
overcoming the problems present in the mentorship system and it can be expected in the coming 
period to be accepted by the majority of Roma students. 
Key Recommendations: 
The pre-school component: 
There is no doubt whatsoever that the good start is a precondition for achieving better results in 
the upper tiers of education. The interventions in the upper tiers of education can help, but for the 
most part deal with support (educational, financial) to those students who have managed to 
single themselves out form the majority of the Roma population. What happens to those who 
have problems at the very beginning? What happens to those who due to financial reasons or to 
low start-up competences do not enter compulsory/mandatory education or show poor results at 
its very beginning and drop-out? The answer to these questions is the key to a more drastic 
improvement of the education of the Roma children. However, the problem with the inclusion of 
children in compulsory education is too big for the potentials of the RECs. More wide-ranging 
and stronger mechanisms and interventions must be sought which will aim at a greater coverage 
of Roma children at preschool age. 
The families and the parents are the key factor. Although in the last years, there is evidence of 
increased awareness of the Roma parents on the significance of education, the majority still 
needs additional support. So far, REP concentrated on institutional addressing of the problem 
through the establishment of the RECs. The non-formal area of intervention remained 
insufficiently covered. Experiences from communicating with the REC staff and with the 
families demonstrated that much can be done in this area, and it would be good to use the 
available experience to strengthen the REP with non-formal modes of action (education, 
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information and animation, cultural events, etc.) directed both at the children and also at their 
parents. 
The primary school component: 
Regardless of the positive trend achieved in the issues of regular attendance and achievements, it 
is necessary for the entire REP Program to be strengthened, since the achievements of the Roma 
students may be a significant success for them, but are still below the level of the other primary 
education students. Given that primary education is a start-up position which provides a 
respective level of competencies on which further education depends, additional efforts must be 
made to strengthen the start-up competencies of Roma students. 
This research, too, shows that the local communities either do not have capacities (human 
resources or systemic ones) to suitably fulfill their role of supporting Roma students, or that this 
issue is very low on their priority list. This, by itself, requires continuation of the efforts for 
animation of the local communities and stronger promotion of the Roma issue. Such efforts need 
especially to be intensifies in the communities where the Roma families are struck hardest by 
weakening of the economic potentials and by need for seasonal work. 
It is the preschool and the primary school age that is the time when the foundations for further 
progress of these students in their education and for achieving success are built. Any deferred 
intervention would mean remedying the consequences cause by insufficient start-up 
competences of the Roma students. 
Data from this evaluation, as well as from the previous ones, point to the fact that the first two 
cycles are the most important ones for retaining the children in school and for their future 
success and progression. We believe that the Program should in future focus more (if not 
exclusively) on working with Roma children from grades 1 to 6 (1-3 and 4-6). 
These two cycles are crucial for the further development of the students The period from the 6th
to the 12th year is critical for the psycho-physical development of the child and not only is the 
personality shaped in this period, but the foundation is created for its ability to learn (reading, 
writing, mathematical skills, abilities for analysis and synthesis, self-confidence, etc.) and its 
readiness to face subject-based upper primary education. 
The secondary school component 
As this component has the greatest potential as one of “the best practices” to grow/develop from 
a project into official government policy (of the MoES/Office) which would help addresses the 
problems of the Roma in/with secondary education, it appears that this part do the Program has 
fulfilled its mission. In the process of “taking over” and implementation of the scholarship 
distribution and mentoring/tutoring assistance to the Roma secondary school students by the 
state, it is to be expected that MoES/Office relies on the experience and lessons learned form the 
REP. After the finish of the ongoing support to the Roma secondary school students, the current 
scholarship recipients (who will complete their secondary education in the year 2009/2010), the 
project should contemplate in future a different types of support the Roma secondary school 
students might need which will not be provided by the state, thus helping then them strengthen 
their competences which emerged as problematic and which adversely affected student 
achievements, e.g. capacity building of soft skills - self-confidence, initiative, creativity, 
teamwork, making career decision, etc. 
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The university component: 
Romaverzitas needs to continue its work, which it does with success, and to continually take into 
account the needs and interests of the students in order to be able to meet them suitably and in 
time. It is obvious that in the coming period it needs to ensure continuance and strengthening of 
activities of educational nature, especially the development of the students' soft-skills for which 
interest was expressed by the majority of students. 
The communication with the scholarship recipients needs to be strengthened and “more intense” 
work needs to be done with those students who have reservation in the abilities of the tutor to aid 
them. Maybe the establishment of a suitable office for career guidance and advice which would 
develop a more mobile and direct communication with the students could help resolve the 
respective issues. 
The involvement of the students who are not USAID scholarship recipients proved itself to be a 
correct step and needs to be nurtured and enhanced.
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PROGRAM DESCRIPTION 
Being aware of all existing problems and having experience in implementing Roma education 
projects for many years, the Foundation Open Society Institute Macedonia (FOSIM), in 
partnership with 5 local NGOs, implements the Roma Education Program which addresses 
detected problems. 
The ultimate aim of the FOSIM’ Roma Education Program (REP) is facilitation of access to a 
continuum of quality education for all Roma girls and boys in Macedonia. The vision 
encompasses creative interventions and quality improvement in programs from pre-school 
through university education, ideally in multicultural settings, were Roma children are fully 
integrated in the learning community. Program activities focus on enabling pupils to succeed in 
learning, especially at transition points when Roma children and youth are most vulnerable to 
drop-out. 
The Program embraces and supports the goals of the region-wide Decade for Roma Inclusion, 
2005-2015, to which the Macedonian Government has already committed itself. 
The Roma Education Program envisages the education system as a pipeline moving children 
from pre-school to university level of education. The education pipeline for Roma children and 
youth in Macedonia is small compared with the one of the majority and of other ethnic groups. 
The main goal of REP is to help Roma students remain in the school system and improve their 
school performance and attendance, through positive interventions at all levels of education. 
The objectives of the project are: 
1. To prepare pre-school age Roma children for entering primary school 
2. To improve the school performance of Roma students aged 7-15 
3. To improve the school performance of Roma students aged 15-19 
4. To promote equal opportunities and increase the academic achievements of Roma 
university students 
The pre-school and primary school program within the REP are targeted and based in 5 Roma 
settlements: “Dame Gruev” and “Klanica” in Skopje, “Lozja” and “Sredorek” in Kumanovo, and 
“Trizla” in Prilep, where active Roma NGOs are trained to provide in their Roma Education 
Centers (RECs) educational and other services for members of the community. 
The pre-school component focuses on improving Roma children language competencies in the 
Macedonian language used in public schools. It focuses on increasing the knowledge and 
educational experiences of Roma children so that they can begin primary school at less of an 
educational disadvantage compared with their non-Roma peers. It also emphases personal 
hygiene and health issues so that Roma children could be better accepted by, and comfortable 
with, other children. 
The primary school component of the Roma Education Program takes action in two directions: 
the first one focusing on regular primary schools in targeted Roma communities, and the second 
one focusing on out-of-school activities for Roma students organized in non-formal Roma 
Educational Centers (students tutoring, assistance in homework writing, preparation for exams, 
educative and other workshops and activities for Roma parents) etc. 
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Extensive teacher and organizational development capacity building support was provided to the 
primary schools in targeted areas in the first few years of the project, in order to enable better 
integration of Roma children. Besides increasing the skills and knowledge of teachers for using 
child-centered methodologies, to each of the participating schools, Anti-Bias training was 
delivered. In addition, schools were also trained and provided with technical assistance for 
designing and implementing of the School Improvement Plan. 
The Secondary School component addresses the needs of all Roma students enrolled in the first 
year of secondary education through an integrated approach of the following three sub￾components: 
 Scholarships for Roma secondary school students; 
 School-based mentorship assistance to scholarship students; 
 Additional academic support (English language and computer courses, trainings and 
summer camps for Roma scholarship recipients). 
The scholarships address poverty barriers and meet the learning needs of Roma secondary school 
students. They secure family support and improve educational inputs such as textbooks, 
supplementary learning materials, transportation, food, clothes, etc. The mentorship assists Roma 
students in overcoming or at least alleviating deficiencies from the previous level of education. 
The program ensures that each student is provided with individual academic support and help in 
developing learning skills, addressing school-related and personal problems, as well as 
facilitating student integration into the academic and social life of the school. Mentors also 
support students in their subject studies, academic planning and active learning, and prepare 
them for State Matura. 
The fourth component of REP is aimed at all Roma university students, offering scholarship for 
purchasing of books, travel costs, accommodation and other school equipment. The Additional 
Academic Support Program offers assistance in filling the educational quality gap from the 
previous level of education as well as provision of opportunities for all motivated students to 
develop their personal skills and to improve their academic performance. It is interesting to note 
that this is the only organized approach to a systemic support to Roma students in higher 
education in the Republic of Macedonia. 
REP combines the successful Macedonia experiences of the Step by Step Program (a child￾centered methodology focusing on children of up to 12 years of age), the Reading and Writing 
for Critical Thinking Program (RWCT, a methodology that challenges students of all ages to 
think critically), the experiences from the Roma Educational Centers (non-formal environments 
that support children in achieving better school performance), established and run by local 
NGOs, and experiences from the implementation of the Mentoring Roma High Schools Students 
Program and Romaverzitas Program for Roma university students. 
Roma in Macedonia 
Unemployment is most wide spread among Roma. According to OECD, 90% of the Roma 
population is unemployed, and according to a UNDP research from 2001, only 2% of the 
employed have education beyond primary, and 75% have incomplete primary education. 
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According to the Employment Agency of the RM, 17,672 unemployed Roma were registered in 
2007, of which 7,410, or 42%, women. Of the total number of unemployed, 90.11% are persons 
without any qualifications.1
The majority of the Roma population in Macedonia lives in 70 settlements, 65 of which are in 
towns and five of which are located in villages. In 82 percent of these settlements, Roma 
constitute the vast majority of the population. Some 10 percent of the settlements are ethnically 
heterogeneous, and in 8 percent, another ethnic community is the dominant majority.2
Ninety-five percent of the country's Roma live in urban areas and 5 percent in rural areas. 
Almost half (48 percent) of the Roma households are in the Skopje region. Only 2 percent of the 
country's Roma live in apartment buildings, 15 percent live in new houses, 46 percent live in 
older houses with acceptable living conditions, and 38 percent of Macedonia's Roma live in 
accommodations without minimum living standards. The majority of Roma living in urban areas 
are concentrated in poor ghettos or in suburban parts of towns, without minimum infrastructural 
conditions. These communities lack access to electricity, water, sewage system, roads, etc. 
According to estimates, about 70 percent of Roma have no legal documentation of ownership for 
the house in which they live, although 88 percent of them claim that they own their home.5 
According to the human poverty index, 55.1% of the population faces some dimension of 
poverty. The Roma population in Macedonia is significantly poorer than the country's population 
in general. Some 88.8 percent of Roma live below the poverty line, while the overall national 
average is 30.2 percent below the poverty line. Furthermore, 96 percent of the Roma families do 
not own land, which indicates that they have no alternative way of providing food. The poverty 
of Roma is mainly due to lower levels of education and higher rates of unemployment.3
The Roma record the highest rate of malnutrition, poor health and child mortality. Most frequent 
cause of infant mortality are peri-natal causes and congenital anomalies, whereas as most 
frequent cause of U5 mortality injuries, congenital anomalies, malignancy and respiratory 
infections appear.4
Roma and education 
Roma experience highest risk for exclusion from the education system. The percentage of Roma 
children who enroll into primary school still varies between 90% and 95%, depending on the 
source of the information, but only approximately 45% to 50% actually complete primary 
education. 
According to information from a range of sources5
, it can be concluded that enrolment into 
school for a Roma child does not automatically also mean its completion. Analyses show that the 
 
1
 Social Picture of Macedonia, Government of the Republic of Macedonia, Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, 
Skopje, 2007, 
2
 Roma Education Fund (2007), Advancing Education of Roma in Macedonia - Country Assessment and the Roma 
Education Fund’s Strategic Directions, Budapest, 3
 Roma Education Fund (2007), Advancing Education of Roma in Macedonia - Country Assessment and the Roma 
Education Fund’s Strategic Directions, Budapest, p.13,14 4
 According to the Strategy for Demographic Development of the Republic of Macedonia 2008 - 2015, Ministry of 
Labor and Social Policy of the Republic of Macedonia, February, 2008. 
5
 UNDP; Gaber Damjanovska, N., Skenderi ,S., Redzepi, N., Bojadzieva, A. and Cekregi, L. (2006), National 
Vulnerability Report for Macedonia - Focus on Roma, Skopje; Roma Education Fund (2007), Advancing Education 
of Roma in Macedonia - Country Assessment and the Roma Education Fund’s Strategic Directions, Budapest, FOSI 
Macedonia (2009), Long Way to Knowledge Based Society: Macedonian education in the light of the EC Education 
and Training 2010 Work Program Benchmarks and Indicators, Skopje; 
10
drop-out rate of Roma children is exceptionally high; e.g. the entry rate of Roma children in 
primary education is relatively high (91%), but only 63% of them remain in school and continue 
their education after the age of ten (4th grade – end of lower primary school). Even more 
concerning is the situation in secondary education, which only 56% of the enrolled Roma 
students manages to complete. Only 19% of the Roma enroll into this education tier, whereas 
only 1.5% continues into higher education. 
Data indicate that Roma probably constitute the majority of the ESL (early school leavers) in the 
country, which corresponds to their exceptionally low employment rate. 2002 census data reveal 
that 90% of the Roma population over 15 years of age have at most completed primary education 
(37.4%), have incomplete primary education (28.6%), are still in primary education (0.8%) or 
have no education at all (23.2%). Only 9.2% of the Roma have completed secondary education, 
with as little as 0.3% having completed some kind of post-secondary education. 
Government measures 
Alongside the economic, social and political transformation, the Republic of Macedonia had also 
to face the challenge of educational transformation. The attempts to modernize the education 
system resulted in partial interventions which were not systemic, uncoordinated and not learning 
objective-oriented. Lacking financial means and not being able to rationally allocate resources, 
the state failed to make successful interventions in the education system and to achieve results 
which would raise the quality of education to a higher level. Unfortunately, in this period, the 
only beacons of light were the excellent practices that could be seen in some of the interventions 
of the international institutions (foundations, bilateral programs, etc.) and domestic non￾governmental institutions and organizations. Their presence in education and their constant 
pointing out to the crucial problems (and in that respect also to a large extent to the issues of the 
Roma) managed to raise the awareness of the general population as well as that of the 
government on the need for a more systemic intervention in the education system. In parallel, 
from the perspective of the Roma issue, this resulted in a number of researches, analyses and 
publications addressing the issues of Roma and education. 
Roma Inclusion 2005-2015 
At the initiative of the World Bank and the Open Society Institute Macedonia, nine countries 
from the region signed a Declaration for joining the initiative Roma Inclusion Decade 2005-
2015, through which they committed themselves that in the coming period they would devote 
attention to greater inclusion of Roma in the social and economic life, with a special focus on 
their situation in the area of education, employment, health and housing.6
The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy was appointed coordinator of all activities related to the 
Roma Inclusion Decade. In order to achieve greater transparency in the work and to increase the 
participation of civil society in this initiative, the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy established 
a National Coordination Body, which has the task of coordinating the activities of the sectoral 
ministries in the implementation of the goals from the national plans of action that were 
developed as part of the Strategy for Roma in the Republic of Macedonia7
 and the Roma 
Inclusion Decade. 
Following the last parliamentary elections, another (new) ministry was established and minister 
without a portfolio appointed - a Roma, Nezhdet Mustafa, responsible for the implementation of 
 
6
 Social Picture of Macedonia, Government of the Republic of Macedonia, Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, 
Skopje, 2007, 
7
 Strategy for Roma, Ministry of Labor and Social Policy of the Republic of Macedonia, Skopje 2004 
11
the Roma decade. It appears that his mandate is not completely clear and hence the perception 
that it coincides/overlaps with the mandate of the department for coordination of the decade at 
the MLSP. The Ohrid Framework Agreement resulted in the establishment of the Office for 
Promotion of the Education in the Languages of the Members of the Communities, whose 
director is also Roma. 
In accordance with the implementation of the national action plans for the Roma Inclusion 
Decade8
 and the Strategy for Roma in the Republic of Macedonia, the Ministry of Labor and 
Social Policy implemented the following small scale projects: “Inclusion of Roma Children in 
Preschool education” and “Roma Information Centers”. 
The Ministry of Education and Science has been implementing activities in accordance with the 
Action Plan from the Roma Inclusion Decade 2005-2015 in support to the initiative for elective 
acquisition of the Roma language. Nevertheless, the necessary (minimum) preconditions for the 
implementation of the elective subject Roma Language and Culture have not yet been ensured; 
nevertheless, the subject was introduced only in a very limited number of primary schools in the 
2008/09 school year. 
The assessment of the successfulness in the implementation of the activities envisaged in the 
action plans of the Roma Inclusion Decade 2005-2015 in the World Bank Progress Assessment 
Report9
 indicates that, aside from presenting positive opinions of the institutional and structural 
component, “very little progress has been made in education”, in proactive involvement of the 
governmental institutions and that “the activities are exceedingly dependent on external funding 
sources”. 
Among the systemic measures implemented by the state in the part of Roma education, the 
awarding of scholarships to Roma students stands out. In 2008, the Government secured 
scholarships for all Roma students in first year of secondary education. Although this measure 
represents progress in respect to the involvement of the Government towards improving the 
educational status of Roma, the impression still remains that this measure is not accompanied by 
a reasoned strategy for its implementation which would result in a much greater success. Only 
the scholarship, which by the way is of huge significance for the Roma students, is often 
insufficient to cause success if it is not accompanied by other supporting measures, such as: 
counseling, additional educational aid, instruction, mentoring, monitoring and recording, 
evaluation , etc. 
In the course of this year, the MOES/Office announced that they would take over the 
continuation of the project in a somewhat amended form, i.e. the awarding of the scholarships in 
combination with mentorship/tutorship for all Roma secondary school students for the first up to 
the third year of secondary education, starting from the 2009/2010 school year. This decision 
points to the fact that the Government and the line ministry have realized the problems Roma 
students face in secondary education and have clearly recognized the positive experiences 
brought by the REP Program interventions (secondary school component) as the most suitable 
and best practice which needs to be taken over for further funding by the state. In this way, the 
secondary school component of the REP Program officially became part of the national system. 
EVALUATION FINDINGS 2009 
 
8
 Roma Inclusion Decade - Republic of Macedonia, Action Plans, Government of the Republic of Macedonia, 
Skopje, November 2004 
9
 World Bank; OSI (2008), Decade Watch: Roma Activists Assess the Progress of the Decade of Roma Inclusion, 
2007 Update 
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Goal 1: To prepare pre-school age Roma children for entering primary school 
Early childhood development as a subject of state intervention is a very recent issue in the 
Republic of Macedonia. In the past, the focus of the efforts of the state was primarily on the 
institutional component of ECD which was addressed as an integral part of the care for preschool 
education. Although the scientists constantly stressed that the period from birth to starting school 
is exceptionally significant for the future development of the person, formal efforts by the state 
were missing. It is being constantly pointed out that in the period from 0 to 6 years the 
foundations and directions are laid for the emotional, cognitive, physical and social development 
of the person and that there is a threat of inadequate approach and incompetent dealing with the 
child’s development, which can later cause a series of unwanted implications. 
 
Unfortunately, the state did not have the strength to translate this awareness and these warnings 
into state programs and strategies that would facilitate timely action. Early childhood 
development was at the margins of the interests of the state, which was of the opinion that, with 
the establishment of preschool facilities, it satisfied the needs of this category of children and 
their parents. According to their design, the preschool facilities were primarily in the function of 
caring for the children while their parents were at work. The developmental component and the 
programs for stimulating the development of the children were of lesser interest. Thus, preschool 
facilities were opened in urban centers, where it was more common that both parents would be 
employed, with no facilities being available in rural areas. This situation is to a large degree also 
a result of the poor financial situation of the rural population, on one hand, and of the traditional 
attitudes that children at the age before commencing school should remain in the family and 
should be cared for by the parents, grandmothers and grandfathers, on the other hand. The rural 
setting, as a primary ambience for such traditional beliefs, gave a sufficient alibi to the state for 
this lack of care for the early childhood development. 
That the state did not have a clear picture of early childhood development is confirmed by the 
fact that the responsibility for this issue kept being transferred from one government sector to 
another. The care for early childhood development was shifted between the Ministry of 
Education and the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy. Unfortunately, the dilemma, who should 
be in charge of this issue, is still present, as the responsibilities lie with one ministry, at the 
moment the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy. This Ministry is responsible for the financing 
and management of the facilities, including the salaries of the staff, maintenance costs and the 
procurement of necessary materials. 
On the other hand, the issues relating to the curricula guiding the work of the preschool facilities 
lie within the mandate of the Ministry of Education and Science (the Bureau for Development of 
Education). If we add on to this the mandate of the Ministry of Health over the health component 
of early childhood development, the picture becomes even more complicated. In addition, there 
has been for a long time no inter-ministerial or professional body responsible for the 
coordination of the activities. Therefore, it often comes to overlap in the responsibilities and to 
poor coordination of the activities; “Care for the children” and “education of the children” are 
still two separate worlds. 
In respect to the infrastructure and equipment, the preschool facilities were for a long time 
characterized by a small accommodation capacity for greater coverage of children and an 
extremely poor availability of didactic material and functional elements. 
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The network of kindergartens today has 51 administrative facilities located in 40 municipalities; 
the number is approximately the same as in 1992 (52). In addition, in 7 municipalities preschool 
services for children are provided in facilities belonging to another municipality, and in one 
municipality the service is offered in other type of facilities. Bearing in mind that the territory of 
the Republic of Macedonia is divided into 84 units of local self-government, one can conclude 
that the coverage with preschool facilities in the Republic of Macedonia is unsatisfactory.10
Similarly unsatisfactory is the situation with the available accommodation capacities in the 
kindergartens compared with the number of children in the country in the age group suitable for 
attending kindergarten (children up to the age of 6); there are approximately 164,000 children 
below the age of 6, with the number of children attending kindergarten amounting to 21,000. 
This means that the coverage of children at a preschool age in organized facilities is only 12.8%, 
which is a very small percentage given that this education segment, although not compulsory, 
still is very important in the development of the personality of the children and their 
socialization.11 Unfortunately, there is no precise data on the number of Roma children in pre￾school facilities. On the basis of separate project analyses, one can conclude that the number of 
Roma included at this level in the education system is very small.
In the opinion of experts in the area of education, it is precisely the poor attendance rate of Roma 
children in preschool facilities that creates the initial handicap, i.e. the poor start-up knowledge, 
which later, in combination with other factors, results in poor achievements in the higher tiers of 
education among this population group. 
The connection between the preschool and the primary education was based more on age rather 
than curricular criteria.
Primary education of children from 6 to 14 years is compulsory and free, and the rate of 
coverage is over 95%, although there are indications, of a possible decline of this high rate in 
some rural areas, especially among the girls from the minority groups, especially Roma. Despite 
economic hardships, the government has managed to maintain the commitments for ensuring 
primary education for all children in their respective mother tongue (Macedonian, Albanian, 
Serbian and Turkish) and the learning of the Roma and Vlach languages as optional subjects. 
According to the new legal regulations, children are enrolled in compulsory education at the age 
of 6, instead of 7, as was so far. This measure was taken due to the detected 12% children at pre￾school age that do not attend pre-school institutions. Although there are no official data, research 
reveals that it is precisely the Roma children, reviewing the representation of the respective 
ethnic group in the total number, that make up the largest percentage of those children. In the 
opinion of educational experts, it is the poor attendance of Roma children in pre-school facilities 
that creates the initial handicap, i.e. it is the weak start-up knowledge that later, in combination 
with other factors, causes poor achievements in the upper tiers of education among this 
population. This measure is expected to increase their respective participation in the preparatory 
year, enabling this group of children an equal start in further education. 
REP contribution 
The activities in the preschool groups in the centers are aimed at improving the Macedonian 
language knowledge and proficiency, the basic knowledge of mathematics and development of 
social and cognitive skills. It focuses on increasing the knowledge and educational experiences 
 
10 Strategy for Demographic Development of the Republic of Macedonia 2008 - 2015, Ministry of Labor and Social 
Policy of the Republic of Macedonia, February, 2008. 
11 Ibid. 
14
of Roma children so that they can begin primary school at less of an educational disadvantage 
compared with their non-Roma peers. It also emphases personal hygiene and health issues so that 
Roma children could be better accepted by, and comfortable with, other children. 
The pre-school and primary school program within the Roma Education Program are targeted 
and based in 5 Roma settlements: “Dame Gruev” and “Klanica” in Skopje, “Lozja” and 
“Sredorek” in Kumanovo, and “Trizla” in Prilep, where educational initiatives were already in 
place and served as good examples. In these settlements active and interested Roma NGOs 
advocate for, and advance future projects in the community. In addition to educational services, 
they also provide services for members of the community. 
The contribution of the Roma Education Centers (REC) has in this respect great significance for 
the successful educational and psycho-physical preparation of the Roma children for the start of 
the compulsory education. The data from the last years indicate that the percentage of children 
covered with REC activities that continue into compulsory education has been permanently 
increasing. 
Table 1 presents data on the number of Roma children who participated in the REC pre-school 
activities in the period September 2008-June 2009, and those who later (September 2009) 
managed to enroll in the first grade of compulsory education. 
Tab. 1: REC Pre-school age Roma children and entering primary school First grade
2005 2006 2007 2009 
Total Total Total Total 
REC 
Total number of children in the preschool /kindergarten group 57 150 97 119 
Enrolled in first grade 51 138 81 116 
Not enrolled 6 12 16 3 
Total enrolled in first grade (%) 89.47 92.00 83.50 97.48
Name of REC Number of children enrolled in 
first grade 
Number of children not 
enrolled 
REC Vrama Si 34 3 
REC Kham 15 0 
REC Dendo Vas 27 0 
REC Romano Pro Angle 36 0 
REC Soncogledi 4 0 
Total 116 3 
The research conducted for the needs of the Baseline Study in 2004 showed that 84% of the 
children that had attended the Roma Education Centers in the previous year enrolled in regular 
primary schools, with this percentage increasing in the 2009 research to 97.48%. 
A detailed analysis including distribution of children according to the REC location shows that 
the total number (100.00%) of those who did not enroll into first grade come from Kumanovo 
and attended the “Vrama si” REC. Analysis showed that these are children who had left for the 
purpose of seasonal work (2) and developmental delay (1) . These families engaged into seasonal 
work as a means for strengthening their finances, together with their children who therefore 
could not enroll on time into first grade. 
15
If these children are taken out of the calculation, as this is an isolated incident and in no way 
does it discredit the work of the REC, it becomes evident that the percentage of children enrolled 
in first grade, who had attended a REC is 100%, thus confirming the conclusion that the RECs 
have a significant impact on the improvement of the educational participation of Roma children. 
Identifying the factors influencing the number of children enrolling into first grade, the following 
ones can be stated with certainty: 
 the intensification of the communication to the families by the educators, 
 the activities of the REC in their work with the children and the parents, and 
 the raised awareness among the parents on the importance of education. 
In the last two years, due to the increased number of children attending the centers and the 
limited number of educators, peer mentors were included in the work. They are sedentary school 
or university students who have previously attended the centers and they work with the children 
under the supervision of the educators. 
As can be seen, although there is a legal obligation for enrolling all 6 year olds in this first level 
of compulsory education, there still are children who do not start on time, i.e. who are not 
enrolled. Due to the lack of precise and complete data, the total number of Roma children not 
attending the RECs and/or not enrolled in compulsory education cannot be presented. However, 
based on general data and previous years’ experience, one can presuppose that the percentage of 
such children is still high. The increase in the duration of compulsory education can help but 
cannot definitively resolve the problem of the low attendance rate of Roma children in preschool 
facilities and their timely enrolment into compulsory education. Strong factors that negatively 
impact the timely enrolment of Roma children in compulsory education still persist. Frequently, 
even under the threat of sanctions (prescribed by the Law on Primary Education), parents do not 
let their children attend compulsory education on time. This trend is expected to decrease in 
future, but not to be completely eliminated. 
The age of the research sample, i.e. the children at pre-school age, is not conducive to 
application of direct research methods. Therefore, it was necessary to gain insight into the 
situation through analysis of portfolios of children participating in the REC activities. 
On the basis of the research, it can be concluded that the preschool aged children reflect the 
general situation of their respective families. Unfortunately, reasons such as: too many working 
hours (grey economy, seasonal work), unemployment and the low educational level of the 
parents still prevail. The state is most frequently and generally to blame for the problems their 
children have in education, without them attempting a self-critical view of the problem. 
This research showed that the increase in the percentage of children who continue into the 
formal education system is an argument that the RECs entirely fulfill their task in the increasing 
of competencies of pre-school children and their preparation for timely commencement of the 
compulsory education. However, the problem with the inclusion of children in compulsory 
education is too big for the potentials of the RECs. More wide-ranging and stronger mechanisms 
and interventions must be sought which will aim at a greater coverage of Roma children at 
preschool age. 
16
Goal 2: To improve the school performance of Roma students aged 7-15 
General remarks: The research covered 340 (148 male, 192 female) primary school Roma 
students - Roma Centre visitors. Given that the picture of the general situation of the Roma 
families has not changed in the country, the basic characteristics of Roma students presented in 
previous research still remain. The above is in compliance with the general trends and 
characteristics of the Roma population in the country. The lack of finances, unregulated family 
relations and poor living conditions, are the main characteristics of the population covered by the 
Roma Education Program. 
For the purposes of the Evaluation, the data received from the Roma Centre students are 
compared with data from all 515 (265 male, 250 female) primary school Roma students from the 
REP primary schools. 
Progression: From the total number of students enrolled in primary education who benefited 
from the services of the RECs, only one student (male) dropped out of school. Chart 2.1 presents 
the positive trend of drop-out decrease that started in 
2006. This trend is not evident only among REC 
students, but also among the overall number of 
students in the REP schools. 
The drop-out rate out (for various reasons: too old, 
moved away, no valid marks i.e. did not attend 
school, sick for the whole period, deregistered, 
expelled from school, etc.) at the level of REP 
schools, among the total number of their Roma12
students amounted to 36 (17 male and 19 female) or 
6.99%, which is a better ratio that the one ascertained 
in 2006 (21.59%), 2007 (15.68%) and 2008 (9.96 %). 
The positive declining drop-out trend can evidently be attributed to the decrease in the drop-out 
rate of the REC students. This positive effect of the REC students is a clear indicator of the 
successful work of the RECs. 
In contrast to the positive trend of decreased drop-out, the rate of repetition has evidently 
deteriorated in the course of this year. (Chart 2.2) The total number of repeaters among the REC 
students amounted to 31 students (13 male and 18 female), i.e. 9.11% of students repeated the 
grade, with this number reaching 111 among all REP students (70 male and 41 female) or 
21.55%. 
The increase in the number of repeaters diverged in 2009 from the positive trend evidenced in 
the previous years. Why? 
This question is difficult to answer without undertaking a deeper situation analysis. Given that 
this feature is not present only among the REC students, but generally at a school level, and is 
accompanied by a deterioration of the grades awarded to measure and record student 
achievements, we can draw the conclusion that this is only a consequence of the work of the 
RECs, or that this issue pertains to a specific cohort, or that the students have suddenly stopped 
learning. It is evident that the causes can not be detected if the analysis limits itself only to the 
RECs and the schools. 
 
12 This number also includes the REC students. 
Chart 2.1: Drop‐outs
0
20
40
60
80
100
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
REP Schools REC Students
17
We are inclined to believe that this increase in the 
number of repeaters can to a large degree be traced 
back to the government initiative of introducing 
external student assessment in all subjects at the end 
of the 2008/2009 school year. The reason for this 
initiative was the intention of the government to 
establish whether students are being awarded 
undeserved grades in primary and secondary 
education. One of the goals this external student 
assessment was expected to achieve was to ascertain 
whether there was a discrepancy between the grades 
obtained at the external assessment and the grades 
the students had received in a specific subject by a 
specific teacher in the course of the school year and 
what this discrepancy was. In the justification of the 
initiative, it was stated that the teachers with the 
smallest discrepancies would be rewarded, whereas those with the highest discrepancy rates 
would be punished. This government initiative was annulled by the Constitutional Court of the 
Republic of Macedonia. Nevertheless, in the period before the annulment by the Court, the 
assessment had already taken place in a number of primary schools, and although it was not 
brought to completion, it still caused significant turbulences in the primary and secondary 
schools. Although definite evidence cannot be obtained, the trend of more rigorous assessment 
procedures by teachers is evident in these schools, and the criteria for the assessment of student 
achievements were set at a much higher level. In an environment where the standards of student 
achievements were not in a clear correlation with the respective equivalent, namely the grade, 
teachers opted for awarding lower grades so as to avoid the threat of being qualified as awarding 
unmerited grades and of being penalized. 
Of course, this is only an assumption as data to verify it do not exist. However, the decrease of 
the average achievement rates and the increase in the number of repeaters evident at a national 
level, indirectly speak in favor of the statement that this initiative had an influence over the work 
of the schools. Hence, the increase in the number of repeaters in the REP schools in general and 
among the REC students as well can be viewed as a consequence, among other thing, of this 
initiative. A deeper analysis of this manifestation, which to a large extent exceeds the scope of 
this evaluation, could yield more precise arguments on the merit of these conclusions. 
It is encouraging to see the further decrease of the drop-pout rate and the continuation of the 
positive downward trend from the previous years. The retention of the Roma students in the 
system is one of the more taxing tasks the REP Program is addressing. Although the students 
face a number of challenges, they still continue their education. This is significant. The fact that 
they stay in the system is a sure guarantee that they will continue their mandatory education. In 
this respect, the work of the RECs has made an invaluable contribution. 
From the perspective of detecting the critical moments contributing to drop-out among Roma 
students, this year has seen a repetition of the situation from last years, when the majority of all 
REP students dropped out in the period between the 5th and the 8th grade. In this case, 69.56% of 
the entire drop-out between the 5th and the 8th grade occurred in the course of the 5th grade and at 
the transition into the 6th grade. It is encouraging to see that the REC students are an exception to 
this trend, as no student has dropped out in the period between grades 5 and 6. The only drop-out 
is one student in grade 8. 
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Graf 2.2: Repeaters
REP Schools REC Students
18
The same is true for the repeating of a school year; it is precisely in this period, at the transition 
between the 5th and the 6th grade that close to 50.00% of all repetition occurs. This is also the 
case with the REC students; the bulk of the repetition of the year occurred in the same period, i.e. 
47.37% of all repeaters from grades 5 to 8 are students repeating grade 5. 
Tab. 2.1: All students compared to RECs beneficiaries 2004-2009 2004/5 
Grade
ENROLLED DROP-OUTS REPEATERS GRADUATES
Total M F M F M F M F 
All Roma students in REP primary schools
5th-8th grade 
460 258 202 17 12 86 44 155 146 
100.00 56.09 43.91 58.62 41.38 66.15 33.85 51.49 48.51 
100.00% 6.30 28.26 65.44% 
Students attending the REC
5th-8th grade 
217 107 110 3 2 11 3 93 105 
100.00 49.31 50.69 60.00 40.00 78.57 21.43 46.97 53.03 
100.00% 2.30% 6.45% 91.24% 
2005/6 
All Roma students in REP primary schools
5th-8th grade 
491 259 232 69 37 22 33 163 167 
100.00 52.75 47.25 65.09 34.91 40.00 60.00 49.39 50.61 
100.00% 21.59% 11.20% 67.21% 
Students attending the REC
5th-8th grade 
239 106 133 0 0 3 2 103 131 
100.00 44.35 55.65 0.00 0.00 66.67 33.33 44.02 55.98 
100.00% 0.00% 2.09% 97.91% 
2006/7 
All Roma students in REP primary schools 
5th-8th grade
472 258 214 42 32 40 19 176 163 
100.00 54.66 45.34 56.76 43.24 67.80 32.20 51.92 48.08
100.00% 15.68% 12.50% 71.82% 
Students attending the REC 
5th-8th grade
251 122 129 0 0 4 1 128 118 
100.00 48.61 51.39 0.00 0.00 80.00 20.00 52.03 47.97
100.00% 0.00% 1.99% 98.01% 
2007/8 
All Roma students in REP primary schools 
5th-8th grade
472 242 230 21 26 34 15 180 187 
100.00 51.27 48.73 45.13 54.87 69.39 30.61 49.05 50.95 
100.00% 9.96 % 10.38 % 77.75 % 
Students attending the REC 
5th-8th grade
257 117 140 0 1 2 2 115 136 
100.00 45.53 54.47 0 100.00 50.00 50.00 45.82 54.18 
100.00% 0.39 % 1.56 % 97.67 % 
2008/9 
All Roma students in REP primary schools 
5th-8th grade
515 265 250 17 19 70 41 178 190 
100.00 51.46 48.54 47.06 52.94 63.06 36.94 48.37 51.63 
100.00% 6.99%13 21.55% 71.46% 
Students attending the REC 
5th-8th grade
340 148 192 1 0 13 18 134 174 
100.00 43.53 56.47 100.00 0 41.94 58.06 43.51 56.49 
100.00% 0.30% 9.11% 90.59% 
If we know that the highest drop-out rate among the Roma students occurs exactly at the 
progression from the fifth to the sixth grade, the move from one location to another has little 
bearing in this case. The reasons for this remain the same, i.e. until the fifth grade children do not 
repeat the grade irrespective of the marks/success that the students achieve. However, starting 
from the fifth grade progression depends on the student achievements. Thus, the majority of the 
students with weak achievements do not manage to progress into the higher (sixth) grade, i.e. 
repeat the fifth grade or simply drop out from school. 
 
13 Two students (1 male and 1 female) dropped out of school to being over-age. 
19
If the data from the initial study are taken into account, which indicated that more than 80% of 
Roma students dropped out in the course of primary or did not continue into secondary 
education, then the current results point to an exceptionally positive contribution of the REP in 
the elimination of the retention and progression problems. 
The analysis of the results by gender gives an answer to the dilemma that arose in the 2005 
evaluation, i.e. whether repetition appears more commonly among the female population. The 
results indicate no significant discrepancies in the number of repeaters between the male (8.78%) 
and the female (9.37%) students. A comparison with the results of the Roma students who did 
not attended the RECs (26.42% among the male and 16.40% among the female students), reveals 
that non-REC students challenge this dilemma. On the contrary, male students who did not 
attend the RECs are more vulnerable in respect to repetition. From this perspective, the influence 
of the RECs is of great importance. The research undeniably confirmed that the resolving of this 
problem is to a large extent due to the influence of the REC and the teaching staff and the 
increased awareness of the Roma families on the necessity of education for the female 
population. 
The role of the RECs and the schools, given the character of their work (direct contact and direct 
assistance) has a prominent place in the changing of the situation in the education of Roma 
students. 
In addition to the REP influence, additional stimulus for the change of the situation comes also 
from the influence of other NGOs, especially the Roma ones, the government measures for 
overcoming the weaknesses in the education sphere among the vulnerable groups and the overall 
campaign for overcoming the problems of the Roma that was conducted in the country in the last 
period. However, it is evident that the government measures hardly yield results if they are not 
accompanied by activities in the field, as is the case with the REP. A confirmation for this 
statement is the fact that the drop-out rate is much higher among students that were not attending 
the REC (Table 2.2). 
Tab. 2.2: Roma Students not attending RECs 2008/9 
Grade ENROLLED DROP-OUTS REPEATERS GRADUATES
Total M F M F M F M F 
5th-8th
grade 
175 117 58 16 19 57 23 44 16 
100.00 66.86 33.14 47.06 52.94 71.25 28.75 73.33 26.67 
100.00% 20.00 45.72 34.28 
The data reveals that even 65.72% of these students did not make the progression into the higher 
level of education, i.e. either dropped out (20.00%) or repeated the grade (45.75%). This drop￾out and repetition rate is the highest one in the country. Why is this so? 
In order to answer this question, we must have precise records and statistical data. Unfortunately 
such records and data are not available in the country. The State Statistical Office does not 
distribute any other data except the total number of enrolled students according to ethnic 
affiliation. On the other hand, the services in charge of monitoring teaching and the situation in 
primary education rarely check whether the students that are enrolled and registered as regular 
students in primary education attend regularly, whether they are sick and/or whether they attend 
school at all or are registered only fictitiously as a number (with a name and surname) in the 
school ledger. Given the high drop-out rate of the students who are treated in the school books as 
“does not attend classes” or “has not receive any marks”, chances are that these students have not 
even appeared in school, but have not been deregistered and are still counted as students of the 
respective school. One needs to bear in mind the legal regulations, whereby the school has no 
20
mechanisms to deregister such students. This is the cause for the difference between the 
registered students and the real number of students that attend school. 
“The curse” of the 5th grade is the main factor in this case, too. Very often, many children do not 
continue their education beyond the first level of primary school (1st to 4th grade), although the 
school automatically registers them in the next grade. The reasons can be various, ranging from 
lack of finances to continue education, poor start-up knowledge acquired in lower primary 
school (1st to 4th grade), to traditional attitudes that it is enough for the children to be literate, to 
command basic reading, writing and mathematics skills, and they do not need to continue their 
education further. In order to determine the situation of the considerable number of Roma 
students who do not attend school at all, it is necessary to conduct a focused research which 
would point out the real reasons for the occurrence of this problem. 
Another manifestation is present in this research, same as in the previous ones. Part of the 
students, although registered as drop-outs, belong to the category of “over-age” students. These 
are namely students who have been deregistered due to being over the approved age for primary 
school attendance. These overage students are a logical result of a trend, common in poor 
communities, especially the Roma ones, to send children to school when they are already too 
old. In this way, these children become too old for education while they are in primary school 
and do not complete their education. After leaving the school they have two choices: 1) to enroll 
into schools for adults and complete primary education, or 2) not continue their education at all. 
Thus, the regular statistical reports of the state services always contain a category “persons with 
incomplete primary education”. 
Regular attendance: 
Table 2.3 presents data on regular attendance and success of REC students and of all Roma 
students in the REP schools. It is evident that in regard to attendance/absenteeism, the REC 
students have a lower rate of absences that the average rate at the level of REP schools, i.e. that 
they have progressed more in comparison with the other students. The advantage of the REC 
students would be even more visible if the total number of absences included those of the 
students who had left schools or repeated the grade, and who are to be found among the students 
that do not attend the RECs. 
In respect to the gender distribution, the trend remains of boys having a higher numbers of 
absences than girls. 
Tab. 2.3: Comparative presentation of absences and the average success rate of the Roma students14
2005 Absences Average success Excused Unexcused Total 
REP primary schools 2.58 5th-8th grade (average) 51.82 35.52 87.34 
Students attending the REC 2.73 5th-8th grade (average) 60.25 26.55 86.80 
2006 Absences Average success Excused Unexcused Total 
REP primary schools 2.79 5th-8th grade (average) 52.47 26.35 78.79 
Students attending the REC 2.95 5th-8th grade (average) 49.96 19.35 69.31 
 
14 Students that left school or repeated the grade are not included in the calculation. 
21
2007 Absences Average success Excused Unexcused Total 
REP primary schools 2.70 5th-8th grade (average) 54.88 30.81 85.69 
Students attending the REC 2.85 5th-8th grade (average) 54.68 22.81 77.49 
2008 Absences Average success Excused Unexcused Total 
REP primary schools 2.59 5th-8th grade (average) 72.15 44.01 116.16 
Students attending the REC 2.65 5th-8th grade (average) 67.23 28.64 95.87 
2009 Absences Average success Excused Unexcused Total 
REP primary schools 2.73 5th-8th grade (average) 56.88 34.09 90.97
Students attending the REC 2.90 5th-8th grade (average) 50.74 30.66 81.40 
Taking a comparative view, the REC students are better this year than the students in the REP 
schools in general. Unlike last year, there is improvement in respect to absenteeism. The average 
number of absences, justified and unjustified, for all Roma students in the REP schools is 90.97, 
which is an improvement in comparison with 2008 (116.16), whereas for the students attending 
the RECs, the absences are as low as 81.40 per student. Expressed in days, it amounts to 
approximately 11 days in the course of the entire school year. 
The reasons for this manifestation can be of different nature, but the most plausible one is linked 
to the general trend of increased absenteeism from primary school at a national level. If we 
combine this with the poor financial potential of the population, especially the Roma, it becomes 
likely that the trend of increased absenteeism among the Roma students will continue in the 
coming period as well. 
At the same time, we could provide another reason affecting not only the achievements, but also 
the absenteeism, the repeating of the school year, as well as the successful completion of the 
education. Namely, the number of students attending the RECs in the course of this school year 
is bigger, whereas the number of REC staff has remained unchanged. This affected the work of 
the RECs and played a part in the reduction of the opportunities for individual work with the 
students and for contacts with the families. 
If we take a look at the overall distribution of absences, we will notice an uneven spread, i.e. 
there is a division of students into those with a high number of absences and those with a low 
number of absences. In the second category of students, it is noteworthy to mention those with 
no absences at all in the whole of the last school year. As a rule, high achievers always have a 
lower rate of absence. 
It is evident that this, still persisting, characteristic of Roma students is one of the biggest 
impediments to achieving better learning success and progress in learning. The reasons for this 
can be sought in the traditional approach to education among this population group, the specific 
value systems, poor start-up knowledge, lack of discipline and of a more serious attitude towards 
education, seasonal work of the students, but without doubt the single most hampering causes is 
the poor financial potential of the families. 
22
Verification of these statements can be found in the data relating only to Roma students who did 
not attend the RECs. 
Tab. 2.4: Absences and the average success rate of the Roma Students not attending RECs15
2009 Absences Average success Excused Unexcused Total 
5th
-8th
 grade (average) 88.38 51.73 140.11 2.31 
Table 2.4 paints an exceptionally grim picture of the absenteeism of students who did not use the 
services of the RECs. The calculation does not include the drop-outs who as a rule are 
responsible for the bulk of absences. If we add this category of students, then the picture 
becomes even grimmer. 
The research clearly leads to the conclusion that the REC students upgrade the average 
absenteeism and achievement rates of the REP schools. It is evident that the Roma students are 
need of preventive additional assistance in order to overcome this problem. The better 
performance of the REC students in regard to absenteeism and achievements is the best 
confirmation thereof. 
In addition to the insufficient educational support, especially among students who did not attend 
the RECs, other causes of the high number of absences among all Roma students could be listed, 
all of which have been confirmed in the previous years’ evaluations. The poor financial situation 
among part of the Roma families prevents additional allocation of resources from the family 
budget for the education of the children, but also causes the children to be engaged during the 
school year in seasonal work or other types of work, with the aim of improving the family 
budget. The children’s seasonal work for appropriate wage (picking grapes, vegetables, etc.) is 
most present in autumn, more precisely at the beginning of the school year. Such work not only 
increases the number of absences, i.e. decreases the regularity of the attendance, but also 
additionally impacts the future success of part of the children for the duration of the entire school 
year, as they miss out on a significant part of the learning material, miss out on the basis and 
have great difficulties in catching up with the other children afterwards. In the end, it all results 
in a low success rate in learning. 
This conclusion is supported by the fact that the RECs in principle provide assistance primarily 
to students coming from lower social status families. The financial weakness of these families to 
a large extent determines the behavior of the children and in the majority of cases puts them in a 
position of ”grown-up” children expected to take the responsibility of an equal contribution to 
the family budget. The engagement of these children in seasonal work and grey economy is 
frequent. A review of school absenteeism reveals that the beginning and the end of the school 
year are the critical periods when most of the absences are recorded. It is precisely in those 
periods that the seasonal activities of whole Roma families occur. Whether the financial gain is 
the strongest reason for the increases on number of absences among these students, remains still 
to be proven. That could be a subject of a special study which to a large extent can help the 
Rap’s more efficient implementation in primary education. 
 
15 Students that left school or repeated the grade are not included in the calculation. 
23
Achievements: 
A comparative review of the achieved success of Roma students shows certain oscillations. (See: 
Table 2.5) If the REC students achieved an average mark of 2.7316 in 2005, for it to go up to 2.95 
in 2006, the average mark declined to 2.85 in 2007 and 2,65 in 2008, only to climb up again to 
2.90 in 2009. This trend is not characteristic only of the REC students, but also of all Roma 
students (2.58 in 2005, 2.79 in 2006, 2.70 in 2007, 2.59 in 2008 and 2.73 in 2009). The same can 
be noticed among students who did not attend the RECs (from 2.47 in 2006, 2.29 in 2007, and 
2.32 in 2008 to 2.31 in 2009). Evidently, this is a trend occurring among all students. 
Tab. 2.5: Comparative presentation of the average success rate of the Roma students17
SCHOOL SUCCESS All Roma 
students 
Students not attending the 
REC 
Students attending the 
REC 
2006 Average school success rate / mark 
5th-8th grade 2.79 2.47 2.95 
2007 
5th-8th grade 2.70 2.29 2.85 
2008 
5th-8th grade 2.59 2.32 2.65
2009 
5th-8th grade 2.73 2.31 2.90
What are the reasons for this? We know that in 2005 and 2006, the students that were 
interviewed complained about bad living conditions and everyday problems they were facing 
(lack of textbooks, lack of learning materials and stationery, bad learning conditions; lack of 
clothing and footwear, poor finances, lack of separate room for learning, problems with reading 
and writing, teachers talking too fast and the poor command of the Macedonian language). 
In addition, we know that the trend of financial weakening of the population in the country is 
permanently increasing, especially among the Roma population. On the other hand, an increase 
of seasonal work of the Roma has been evidenced in 2006/07 and 2007/08 as a consequence of 
financial impoverishment and the need for strengthening the family budget. It needs to be 
mentioned that the Roma are in a specific situation which is characterized by a high degree of 
unemployment, which according to unofficial data is over 90%, lack of farmland and high 
participation in the grey economy. Thus, it should not be surprising that precisely this population 
is increasingly involved in seasonal work. Given that the seasonal engagements are opportunity 
dependent (depend on the need for workforce), they vary and are not constant every year. 
We believe that this is the strongest factor for the decline in the learning achievements of Roma 
students in 2009. 
Conclusions and recommendations: 
The project demonstrated success in retaining the high completion rate of 90 % among the 
regular REC attendees. However, this rate is lower that the one achieved in the course of last 
year. This decline is in line with the general downward trend in all project primary schools 
resulting from the introduction of external testing (not only among Roma students, but generally 
among all students); the number of repeaters and of drop-outs has increased at the school level. 
In addition to the financial reasons, the educational handicap of the parents, the persistent strong 
influence of traditional values, the low awareness level on the significance of education, the 
 
16 On a scale of 1-5, 1 being fail and 5 being excellent. 
17 Students that left school or repeated the grade are not included in the calculation. 
24
increased number of REC beneficiaries could also be listed as a reason for the decreased 
completion rate among primary school students participating in the Program. The number of 
children covered by direct education support in the centers has increased in comparison to 
previous years, reducing the time that the REC devotes to the students, i.e. the individual support 
that each beneficiary of the RECs should enjoy. 
It is evident that the REC students show better results when compared to other Roma students, 
which is a testimony to the fact that the RECs perform well their tasks. However, the average 
student achievement still cannot go above grade 3, which is expectable having that the project 
beneficiaries are the low-achievers. Such an achievement rate increases the students’ 
vulnerability in regard to their further education. This weakness will become more pronounced 
when students enroll into secondary education. Preventive action must be taken. A combination 
of institutional solutions (REC Centers) with an aggressive intervention in the non-formal sector 
(in families and local self-governments) through educational and informative campaigns might 
improve the Program and bring about better results. 
Data from this evaluation, as well as from the previous ones, point to the fact that the first two 
cycles are the most important ones for retaining the children in school and for their future 
success and progression. We believe that the Program should in future focus more (if not 
exclusively) on working with Roma children from grades 1 to 6 (1-3 and 4-6). 
These two cycles are crucial for the further development of the students The period from the 6th
to the 12th year is critical for the psycho-physical development of the child and not only is the 
personality shaped in this period, but the foundation is created for its ability to learn (reading, 
writing, mathematical skills, abilities for analysis and synthesis, self-confidence, etc.) and its 
readiness to face subject-based upper primary education. 
25
Goal 3: To improve the school performance of Roma students aged 15-19 
REP in secondary education rests on three pillars: a) scholarships, b) mentorship and c) 
educational support. This positioning enabled complete successiveness to the REP implemented 
in primary education and represents a logical continuation to the activities commencing in 
preschool and primary education. The goal of the REP in secondary education is to help Roma 
students progress more successfully in secondary education and acquire the necessary 
competences for continuation of their education and/or active involvement in the labor market. 
One of the stronger factors that have a detrimental influence on the educational participation of 
Roma - poverty - has been lessened through the introduction of the student scholarship 
component. It was expected that thanks to the scholarships, the families would be able to afford 
the necessary expenses for the education of their children (books, learning aids, transportation, 
clothing and food), which in the majority of cases represent a great burden for the modest family 
budget among most of the Roma families. Before 2008/09, secondary education was not 
compulsory, making it a burden on the budget of the family and thus decreasing the chances of 
the primary school graduates to continue into secondary education. This was the reason for a 
significant number of students not to continue their education. 
The poor participation in preschool education and the low achievements in primary education 
imply poor start-up competences and learning habits of the Roma students in secondary 
education and represent a strong factor that the Program had to take into account. With the 
introduction of the mentorship system and involvement of a greater number of teachers 
(mentors), the Program established not only a high level of compensation for the poor start-up 
knowledge but also a strong component for education, motivation and control of the 
achievements of Roma students. 
The mentorship assisted the Roma students in overcoming or at least alleviating deficiencies 
from the previous level(s) of education. The Program ensured that each student was provided 
with individual academic support and help in developing his/her learning skills, addressing 
school-related and personal problems, and also facilitated student integration into the academic 
and social life of the school. The mentors supported the students in their subject learning, 
academic planning and active learning, and prepared them for the A-Level examinations/Matura 
(in the year 2007/8). 
One of the most difficult challenges the Program faced was changing of the way of thinking 
among both students and teachers (mentors). Analyses showed that additional efforts were 
needed to put permanent “pressure” on students in the form of academic support. The 
organization of training events and summer and winter courses of the students and the mentors 
proved successful for the achievement of this objective. The Roma scholarship recipients were 
given opportunity to participate in a range of activities such as summer camps organized around 
different themes (debate, street law, film, literature, environmental protection, human rights, 
learning strategies, communication skills, English language and computer skills, etc.). 
For the needs of the Program, a significant number of training events were organized for the 
mentors in order to improve their competences in the following areas: mentoring, learning 
processes, socialization processes, communication skills, school didactics, conflict resolution, 
team work, etc. At the same time, the mentors had the opportunity to education themselves on 
and get familiar with the Roma culture and the specificities of the Roma population. This 
component represents one of the pivotal pillars of the Program. Guided by the understanding that 
“in order to help someone, you need to get to know him/her”, the organizer managed to establish 
an close ties not only between the mentors and Roma students, but also between the mentors and 
26
the Roma community in general. This was an important achievement which enabled action 
within the Roma families and animation of the parents to give a greater contribution in the 
education of their children. All analyses confirm that the family is a strong factor of influence, 
which, depending on the engagement of the parents, can have a positive or an adverse impact on 
the achievements of the students. Among the Roma, given the low educational level of the 
parents, the prevailing traditional values (especially the low importance attributed to education), 
the low level of self-esteem and the poverty, the active involvement of the parents is decisive. 
The focus of the Program revolved around two key indicators that were the basis for the 
monitoring and evaluation of Program implementation: success/achievements and regular 
attendance of students. Additional indicators taken into account were: the work of the mentors, 
parent participation, non-mentor teacher opinions and the efficiency of the training and of the 
camps. 
The secondary school component of the FOSIM Roma Education Program represents a first 
attempt for an organized approach to the improvement of the achievements of the Roma students 
in secondary education in the Republic of Macedonia. 
FOSIM was aware that success of the Program was crucial in order to attract the attention of the 
state for undertaking specific steps in this area. Only strident achievements, accompanied by 
constant bringing to the forefront of the situation can bring about “significant stirring” and 
undertaking of systemic interventions in this respect. 
Coverage in previous years 
In the period from 2004 to 2008, the REP supported one singe cohort of secondary school 
students. These students were fully covered with the Program in the period from the moment 
they started their secondary education to the moment they graduated. 
2004/05 
262 Roma students (152 male and 110 female) started in 1st year in secondary schools with 
scholarship and mentorship assistance from the REP. The Program included 235 students from 
regular secondary schools and 27 students from schools for students with special needs. From 
them, 220 students from regular sec. schools and 27 students from secondary schools for 
students with special needs successfully completed the school year. All 220 students from the 
regular secondary schools enrolled into the second year in September 2005. 
2005/06 
Of the 220 Roma students who started their second year, 212 successfully completed it and all of 
them, 212, continued into third year in September 2006. 
2006/07 
- Of the 212 Roma students who started their third year education, 197 managed to complete 
it. Of them, 65 students (50 male and 15 female) successfully completed the three-year 
vocational schools and obtained diplomas for completed 3-year secondary education. Of 
these 65 students, 18 transferred into 4-year secondary education and obtained in the 2007/08 
school year diplomas for completed 4-year secondary education. 
- The other 132 students successfully completed the third year from the 4-year secondary 
school program. 
2007/08 
27
- 155 students (81 male and 74 female) started 4-year general or vocational education. 
- 148 students (75 male and 73 female) successfully completed the 4-year secondary 
education. 
At the end of the fourth year of program implementation (2007/08), thanks to the REP support, a 
total of 200 of the initial 262 students - scholarship recipients (76.33% of the initial cohort) 
completed their secondary education (153 completed the 4-year secondary and 47 students the 3-
year secondary education). 
 
In 2008/09 school year, 102 new secondary students were covered by the program. 
After having completed in June 2008 a four year cycle of providing scholarships to a whole 
cohort of secondary school students, FOSIM included in the REP Project in the 2008/09 school 
year 102 new (44 male and 58 female) Roma secondary school students from third year general 
and four-year vocational education with an average achievement grade of 3.0 (or up), calculated 
as an average of the grades from the previous two years. The students were given the opportunity 
to benefit from a scholarship and mentor assistance by 53 secondary school teachers (15 male 
and 38 female). These 102 secondary school students come from 40 secondary schools in 21 
towns throughout the country. They had not received any assistance in the previous two years 
from the REP (i.e. in years 1 and 2 of their secondary education) and were now included for the 
first time in the program. 
The distribution of students depending on the type of the secondary school they attended and on 
gender is presented in Table 2.1. 
Tab. 2.1: School year 2008/09 – Students attending regular schools No. of 
schools
No. of 
students male female
Secondary general 3 7 2 5 
Combined general and vocational 13 42 9 33 
4-year secondary vocational 24 53 33 20 
Total 40 102 44 58 
FOSIM decided to focus on third year students in four-year secondary education for the 
following reasons: 
(1) With the introduction of compulsory secondary school the MoES decided to award 
scholarships to all Roma secondary school students but only to those attending first year of 
school, thus leaving the Roma secondary school students from the other years without any 
financial support. 
(2) The decision was also a result of the limited budget of the program and its duration which 
was limited to two more years. This approach ensured that the selected students would receive 
program support until the completion of their secondary education. 
(3) The REP included in the 2008/09 school year only secondary school students from general 
and four-year vocational education. The intention was to enable them through the REP to 
improve their competences and achieve better results thus increasing their chances for 
continuation of their education at a university level. 
(4) The preparation for the taking of the state Matura examination was pivotal in the decision. To 
this end, the mentor assistance among the majority of the scholarship recipients was oriented 
towards better preparation in those subjects that were especially important for passing the state 
Matura. 
28
That the decision and selection of the candidates was sound is verified by the fact that of a total 
of 101 out of 102 scholarship students (or 99.02%) successfully completed the year. Only one 
student discontinued his education. 
Previous Evaluations 
In 2005, a periodical evaluation showed that the intervention cohort of Roma secondary school 
students has achieved much better results than the non-intervention cohorts of Roma students 
enrolled in the first year of secondary education in previous (base-line) years. 
 
The school-based mentorship work has the most significant influence for the improved student 
achievements, and less significant influence for the regular school attendance of students. 
Although the attendance rate is within the expected and very close to that of the students of other 
ethnic groups (primarily the Macedonian ones), it remains one of the issues that REP should deal 
with in the upcoming project years. 
The mentoring system turned out to be very successful, not only in regard to the improvement of 
the performances of the secondary school students, but also in the improvement of the school 
climate, strengthening of the collaboration not only within the mentor team, but also with the 
other teachers as well. 
In 2006, the second periodical evaluation of the REP secondary school component was carried 
out. The REP is achieving great success in secondary education. The influence of the Program is 
strongest in the area of improving the achievements of the REP students whereas there are still 
problems with the improvement of the regular attendance. 
The REP program is exerting great influence not only on the students, but also puts the REP 
teachers and the other teachers in a new position. The realization of the Program in the majority 
of cases has a stimulative influence on the collaboration among teachers and the cooperation 
between the teachers and the students. The effects on the animation of parents and their 
involvement in the Program are somewhat weaker. Given the problems pointed out so far that 
parents face in everyday life, it is to be expected that this problem becomes an additional 
challenge for the organizers of the REP and its direct implementers. 
The mentorship system should be maintained and strengthened by the FOSIM. For this purpose 
it is necessary to: 
 conduct a analysis of the mentors’ needs for additional training; 
 organize additional mentor training based on needs assessment of their training needs 
 organize more frequent additional REP student training in subjects where they have poor 
achievements; 
 focus the training for the REP students in IT and foreign languages to only those students 
who have a need for such training; 
 organize more frequent mentor meetings where positive and successful examples from the 
practice are presented, 
 design models for enhanced communication between mentors and parents, 
 review the possibility for increasing the remuneration for the mentors, especially since some 
of them point out that they use their own resources for the realization of some of their 
activities. 
29
In 2007 the third evaluation of the REP secondary school component was conducted. The Roma 
Education Program continues its successful implementation in secondary education. The 
influence of the Program is strongest in the area of improving the achievements of the REP 
students whereas there are still problems with the improvement of the regular attendance. 
The REP program proved its power not only on the students, but also put both the REP teachers 
and the other teachers in a new position. The realization of the Program has a stimulating 
influence on the collaboration between the teachers, the teachers and parents between the 
teachers and the students. Some of the pinpointed problems, such as: the state Matura 
examination, early marriages, disinterest by some of the parents, etc. will be an additional 
challenge for those responsible for the REP program as well as for the immediate implementers. 
In 2008, the fourth evaluation of the REP secondary school component was conducted. The REP 
Program in secondary education managed to achieve the planned goals, and despite the large 
number of initial problems and the exceptionally specific target population, i.e. beneficiaries, the 
Program showed strength, adaptability and quality which resulted in a remarkable success and 
achievements by the secondary school students. 
This success story attracted the attention not only of the state institutions, but also gave a 
valuable contribution to the enhancement of the educational level of the Roma population. The 
results from the implementation of the Program will be even more impressive in time, as 
interventions in education do not yield short-term results; on the contrary, they will be visible 
once these students complete higher education and/or find employment and return this 
investment for the good of the entire Roma community and the country in general. 
The evaluation in 2009 was conducted with the assistance of OSI Macedonia. For the purposes 
of the evaluation of the REP secondary school component, a research was carried out among 102 
USAID scholarship recipients ( 44 male and 58 female). 
The evaluation consisted of two basic components: 
1) review and analysis of the school documentation and periodical reports of students in 
order to record the actual situation of the secondary students – scholarship recipients at 
the REP secondary schools in the Republic of Macedonia in 2008/09. 
2) conducting of an empirical research aimed at ascertaining the opinions and attitudes of 
the REP scholarship recipients in the academic year 2008/09 on their own progress and 
on the implementation of the Program. 
The research covered a sample of 102 scholarship recipients. It was conducted through: 
- Documentation analysis: 102 scholarship recipients. 
- Periodically Rapports: 102 REP Roma students from the 40 REP secondary schools in the 
Republic of Macedonia for the periods of 2008/09. 
- Questionnaires: 95 REP scholarship recipients and 37 mentors (9 male and 28 female). 
- Focus groups: 98 REP students who have completed their education and were included in the 
program. 
The periodical evaluation was carried out in from June to October 2009 by the Research Team. 
The analysis of the results obtained will be presented in the context of the third main goal (Goal 
3) of the Roma Education Program and functionally related to it. 
30
Retention 
Table 3.1 enables us to see that the secondary school students - recipients of scholarships in 
2008/09 school year achieve a progression rate of 99.02%. 
 Tab. 3.1: Retention rate of secondary school regular students - recipients of scholarships 
2005 
ENROLLED DROP-OUTS REPEATERS GRADUATES 
Total M F Total M F Total M F Total M F 
235 133 102 8 5 3 7 5 2 220 123 97 
100.00 56.60 43.40 100.00 62.50 37.50 100.00 71.43 28.57 100.00 55.90 44.10 
100.00% 3.42% 2.97% 93.61% 
2006 
Total M F Total M F Total M F Total M F 
220 119 101 6 3 3 2 2 0 212 114 98 
100.00 54.9 45.91 100.00 50.00 50.00 100.00 100.00 0.00 100.00 53.77 46.23 
100.00% 2.74% 0.90% 96.36% 
2007
Total M F Total M F Total M F Total M F 
212 119 93 7 1 6 3 2 1 197 112 85 
100.00 56.13 43.87 100.00 14.29 85.71 100.00 66.67 33.33 100.00 56.85 43.15 
100.00% 3.30% 1.41% 92.92% 
2008
Total M F Total M F Total M F Total M F 
155 81 74 5 4 1 2 0 0 148 75 73 
100,00 52,26 47,74 100,00 80,00 20,00 100,00 0 0 100,00 50,67 49,33 
100,00 3,22 1,29 95,48 
2009 – NEW STUDENTS 
Total M F Total M F Total M F Total M F 
102 44 58 1 0 1 0 0 0 101 44 57 
100,00 43,14 56,86 100,00 0 100,00 100,00 0 0 100,00 43,56 56,44 
100,00 0,98 0,00 99,02 
The previous years’ evaluations indicated a downward trend of the drop-out rate of the Roma 
students which averaged 3.17% and approximated the overall secondary education drop-out rate 
in the country (2.84%)18. This year’s evaluation points out to a striking dive in the drop-out rate 
to only 0.98% which is way below the national average. Although this is a new generation/cohort 
of secondary school students who were selected according to their achievements in the previous 
years, a comparison is still possible, because the average achievement rate of the previous cohort 
was similar to the average achievement rate of this particular cohort of students. The 
achievement of such a low drop-out rate is a success and there is no doubt that the program has 
made in this respect significant achievements. This success of the Roma students merits further 
analysis and detection of the key factors that made it happen.
 
1) The first reason can be found in the decision of the Government to declare secondary 
education compulsory. This in itself means that the young people are obligated to attend this 
educational tier. If somebody fails to enroll or drops out, he/she risks being penalized, this 
being clearly stated in the legal provisions. According to the Secondary Education Act, “A 
fine in the amount of EUR 1,000 in denar counter value will be pronounced against the 
parent, i.e. guardian, of the minor student if he is not enrolled in secondary school or fails to 
 
18 National Program for the Development of Education 2005-2015, MoES, 2005 
31
attend it regularly.” (Article 3)19. This is a very clear provision. However, such penal 
provisions were also foreseen in the previously defined compulsory education, but failed to 
help students enroll into and remain in school. Hence, this legal provision cannot be regarded 
as a strong factor which contributed to the drastic decrease of the drop-out rate among the 
Roma students; 
2) The second reason can be sought in the introduction of the external assessment by the 
Government. This appraisal was planned to happen at the end of the 2008/09 school year, but 
triggered huge reactions among the professional community and the general public in the 
country. The reason for this was the decision of the Ministry to assess the work of the 
teachers through the external assessment of students. It was announced that all teacher will 
be penalized if the external assessment displayed a significant discrepancy between the grade 
received at the external assessment and the grade previously established by the teacher. The 
Government and the MoES gave as a reason for this the unsubstantiated allegation that 
students in primary and secondary education were “bestowed” grades.20 The respective 
decision caused the teachers to make the assessment criteria strict, because nobody welcomes 
the chance that his/her grade is higher than the one the student will receive at the external 
assessment. Hence, not only were no undeserved grades awarded in the course of last year, 
but to a large extent the teachers applied much harsher assessment criteria. This is testified to 
by the students and the mentor teachers, more that 50% of whom stated that the assessment 
criteria were much stricter in the course of this year that before; 
3) The third reason can be sought in the fact that only third year students were selected. If we 
keep in mind that the highest drop-out rate is present among first and second year Roma 
students, one could argue that once students reach third year, they are likely to complete their 
schooling. Maybe there is truth in this claim, but we must not forget that although with a 
smaller intensity, drop-out continues also into the upper grades of secondary education, and 
so does re-sitting the year. In our case, with the exception of one female student, not only is 
there no re-sitting, but all students managed to complete the year with success and in the 
prescribed time. This means that this possible reason also is not strong enough to be a 
decisive factor; 
4) A fourth reason could be the selection of students by FOSIM and the criteria for awarding 
the scholarship, i.e. every student applying for a scholarship must have an average grade of at 
least „3”21 and must not allow the grade to drop in the course of the schooling as thus he/she 
would forfeit the scholarship. This is a serious reason. All the evaluations so far pointed to 
the fact that the scholarship is for the majority of students of decisive importance and their 
motivation to keep it strongly impacts their high learning motivations and their resolve to 
complete the year with success; 
5) The fifth reason is in line with the program and its objectives to, in addition to the 
scholarship, provide other support to the students (mentoring and academic training). This is 
undoubtedly a strong factor which the previous evaluations highlighted as well. The results 
from the focus group held with already graduated REP students indicated a high level of 
appreciation on the part of the students to USAID and FOSIM not only for the scholarship 
but above all for the fact that they had developed a range of competences they had previously 
 
19 Amendments and Supplements to the Secondary Education Act, 2007 
20 External assessment was not applied in the course of this school year, due to the fact that the Constitutional Court 
quashed part of the articles in the act which regulated the assessment of students and teachers, thus returning the 
entire policy for further elaboration. It can be presumed that in the course of the 2009/10 school year, we will see the 
implementation of the external assessment of student achievements. 
21 On a scale of 1 - fail to 5 - excellent
32
not believed possible to have (self-confidence, abilities to learn, broader vision and desire for 
career advancement, IT abilities, foreign language, etc.); 
 
6) A sixth reason can be found in the fact that the public opinion inside the Roma community is 
dynamically changing for the better. The significance of education is becoming deeply rooted 
in the minds of the Roma in the country. 
It is evident that the high percentage of progression among the Roma students is a result of the 
effect of several combined factors of which undoubtedly the most significant is the impact of the 
Program. It is a well known fact that results in education cannot be immediately visible, and this 
case only goes to prove this maxim. What at the beginning seemed difficult, and in most cases 
impossible, is now proving justified. 
 Learning achievements: 
The positive trend of decrease in the drop￾out and repetition rates among the REP 
students is followed by improvement of the 
learning achievements. Chart 3.1 reveals 
that Roma students have been improving 
their achievement/success rate with each 
subsequent year. If the average success rate 
in 2005 was 3.11, it improved to close to the 
grade 4 in 2009, which is an immense 
achievement. Improvement of the average 
achievement/success rate clearly indicates 
that the results of the REP program are improving permanently. Although we are talking about 
two distinct student cohorts, a comparison is possible because is points out to a regularity which 
is of exceptional significance not only for the Roma students, but for all secondary school 
students. The most problematic years for a successful completion of secondary education are the 
initial ones. This is the time when the poorer achievers drop out or repeat the year, thus leaving 
in the upper years the better achievers of whom it can be logically expected to achieve better 
results in their learning. The turning point is the transition from the first into the second year. 
The comparison is possible because the cohorts of 2005/06, 2006/07 and 2007/08 had an average 
achievement rate approximate to the criteria for the selection of the candidates from the 2008/09 
school year, which was a minimum average grade of 3. 
In regard to the learning success 
achieved by the students - scholarship 
recipients, a conclusion can be drawn 
that there is an equal distribution of 
students according to the marks at the 
end of the school year and the gender, 
with a slight domination of the female 
students in the category Very good. 
Chart 3.2 demonstrates that students of 
both genders are concentrated in the 
categories Excellent and Very Good, and 
together with those from the category 
Good create the majority of students. Given previous trends, where the Roma students were 
3,11
3,42 3,47
3,59
3,73
2,8
3
3,2
3,4
3,6
3,8
2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09
Chart 3.1: Average school success
22,73
18,97
34,09
51,72
43,18
25,86
0 1,72
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory
Male Female Chart 3.2: Shool achievment at the end of 
 the school year 
33
concentrated at the lower end of the marking scale, this data points to a significant achievement 
in the learning success of the students - scholarship recipients. This trend of improvement speaks 
by itself that the Program has accomplished its objective in regard to the student achievements. 
If we compare the success rate of the students - 
scholarship recipients with the overall success 
of all students in the REP schools in year three 
(3.1), we can see that it is way higher. This 
information is exceptionally important, because 
it highlights the competitiveness of the success 
of the scholarship recipients in comparison to 
the other Roma and non-Roma students within 
their schools. (Chart 3.3) 
The trend of improved achievement/success of 
the Roma students was evident in the previous evaluations, although they were always below or 
close to the school average. In this case they are above the average, which from the perspective 
of their competitiveness for continuation of their education is highly significant. 
The data analysis points to several factors that impacted the improvement of the achievements of 
the REP students - scholarship recipients. Without doubt, the single most significant factor was 
the involvement of the mentors. This influence is especially emphasized by the students 
themselves. Of the available choice responses for the most influential factor on the progress of 
Roma students, the REP students and REP mentors selected: the influence of the mentors, the 
scholarship, the academic training and the high motivation. The existence of high motivation 
among these students is confirmed by the fact that 55.80% respondees stated that they are not 
entirely satisfied with the success they have achieved and that they could do better. It is 
interesting to see that this percentage corresponds to the percentage of mentor teachers who 
believe that the students could have achieved more. It is obvious that capacities exist in the 
students that could be developed further. 
In regard to the changes in the course of the schooling, the REP teachers agreed that the 
following manifestations have continued: more regular attendance among part of the students, 
improved learning success/achievements, enhanced self-confidence, greater involvement in the 
teaching process and greater accountability in the completion of assignments. This speaks by 
itself of the strong support the Roma students receive from their mentors in the school and the 
willingness of the other teachers to help. It is more than obvious that the contacts are already 
established, that the students have adapted themselves to the requirements of the mentors, and 
also a systemic approach in their work can be seen. The mentorship system, viewed from the 
perspective of learning achievements is showing good results. This is verified by the statements 
of the students according to which 91.12% are largely satisfied with their cooperation with the 
mentors, whereas 61. 05% believe or are positive that they would not have achieved what they 
did if they hadn’t had the support of the mentors. 
The influence of the mentors does not stop at the control of regular attendance but contributes to 
the increase of knowledge and skills of the mentored students and enhancement of the 
communication with the parents of the students. 
Searching for the reasons for poorer achievements among a small portion of the students in 
2008/09, the mentors stress the influence of two main reasons: 1) more rigorous assessment 
criteria applied in this school year (close to 80% of the mentor teachers believe that the 
assessment criteria were more rigorous in the course of this year in comparison to previous 
3,7
3,1
0
1
2
3
4
5
All students in the REP
Schools
REP Roma sholarschip
students
Chart 3.3: Average school success
34
years) and 2) students learn insufficiently. The same reasons were highlighted by the students 
themselves. It is good that the causes have been identified, which leaves room for addressing 
them in the course of the next project and school year. 
The mentors reveal that the external assessment, which was supposed to be introduced at the end 
of the evaluation school year planned, impacted their work, and 67.57% of them stated that they 
spent most of the time preparing the students for the external assessment. It is evident that the 
external assessment used up a lot of the time of the mentors which could have been put to use for 
realization of the other tasks envisaged in the mentorship system, such as cooperation with the 
parents, which although growing in intensity each year, still is weak among part of the student 
families, and also for other extracurricular activities which were more frequent in the previous 
years. 
Regular attendance
 According to official school data, the REP students had at the end of the 2008/09 school year 
5948 instances of absence, of which 5210 (51,08 absences per student) are excused absences, 
whereas 738 (7,23 absences per student) are unexcused. Calculated into school days, this means 
that an average student had been excusably absent close to 8.7 days, with 1 day without any 
justification/excuse. In comparison with the 
absenteeism instances evidenced in 
previous year (12770), the situation has 
improved more than twice. This is a 
remarkable achievement which is atypical 
and below the average absenteeism rate for 
the country. However, this is only an 
average; there is still a huge difference 
among students –there are those with many 
absences, as a rule these would be the 
poorer achievers, and there are those with few absences, as a rule the higher achievers. 
This research revealed also that on the question of regular attendance, there are significant 
problems which are outside of the area of the teachers’ influence. 
Although the average number of absences has been drastically reduced, the same trend from the 
previous years as to the period of the year when they have been committed can be recognized. 
The majority of executed and non-excused absences occur in the first three months of the school 
year, with a significant number occurring also at the end of the school year. Based on the 
statements of the mentors , of the teachers (both REP and non-REP), of part of the parents and 
part of the students in the period from 2005 to 2008, it can be concluded that there are very 
strong factors that impact regular attendance, and that for the time being they are immune to the 
REP interventions. 
Tab. 3.3: Excused and non-excused absences -
 Regular schools
 Excused absences Non-excused absences 
 Male Female Male Female 
01.12.08 683 750 151 124
20.01.09 401 581 104 86
15.04.09 446 671 66 69
10.06.09 678 1000 81 57
Sub total 2208 3002 402 336
Total 5210 738
Average 51,08 7,23
Average 58,31
35
Most significant reasons for the absences 
were the following ones: poor financial 
situation of the family, the weak 
immunological situation of the Roma 
students (frequent illnesses confirmed 
by a high number of excused absences), 
seasonal work of students (most 
pronounced in the winter and the spring 
period). 
The first two reasons prevail in the 
winter period and primarily in the bigger 
towns whereas the third reason dominates in late spring. A confirmation of this statement can be 
found in the distribution of the absences according to the time when they were made, see Tab. 
3.3 and Chart 3.5. It is evident that the biggest number of absences was made in the autumn and, 
above all, winter period, decreasing in the spring period and increasing in late spring. This 
distribution of the absences speaks in favor of the already detected problem, which not only the 
REP students face, but also the other Roma students, and which impacts regular school 
attendance. 
In the researches of 2005, 2006, 2007, 
2008 and similarly in the current one, the 
mentor teachers and the other teachers 
point out to the students’ engagement in 
seasonal activities of their families as 
one of the main reasons for the irregular 
attendance by the Roma students. 
Parents are frequently involved in 
seasonal work to increase their family 
budget. In such cases, the children either 
go with the parents and actively 
contribute, or stay at home under the supervision of the elders or relatives or unsupervised. This 
remains, same as with the pre-primary and primary school students, one of the strongest reasons 
for the great number of instances of absence. 
In regard to the gender distribution of absences, it is evident that, unlike the female students 
whose attendance rate (57.55) has improved in comparison with the previous year and is within 
the expectations, the male students are much more at risk from this problem (72,93). 
It is obvious that the financial factor continues to exert huge influence over the student 
achievements. Although the scholarship is of great help, it cannot solve all financial problems of 
the families, but only mitigate those related to the specific costs for secondary education. 
Excused
Non￾excused 
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
dec 08 jan 09 apr 09 jun 09
Chart 3.5: Total average absence
Excused
Non￾excused 
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
16000
2004/5 2005/6 2006/7 2007/8 2008/9
Chart 3.5: Total average absence by year
36
The students and the scholarship
As regards the issue of scholarships, it was concluded that in the past 4 years, it was mostly used 
for securing food, transportation and school materials (books, notebooks, stationary, etc.) by the 
students. In addition to proclaiming 
secondary education compulsory, the 
Government decided that it should also be 
free, meaning that the Government 
committed to providing free transportation 
and text books, but only for the two junior 
cohort of secondary education that have 
enrolled following the declaration of 
compulsory secondary education. For the 
other students, secondary education is not 
free. Thus, for these students the 
scholarship is a valuable aid in covering 
the costs associated with school; that was namely its purpose. However, it was detected that for 
some students, the scholarship also serves a role in addressing some other family needs, such as 
clothing and securing transportation to school. If addressing these needs had a positive impact on 
the students’ efforts in school, and this was obviously the case, as the students in question 
achieved success in their learning, than this redirection of funds, although not in line with its 
primary purpose, is acceptable from the viewpoint of the program. 
The scholarship is a huge help to the 
Roma students. Although they attribute 
great significance to the mentorship 
assistance and to the acquisition of 
foreign languages, forced to make a 
choice of the one thing to give up, they 
are most reluctant to give up the 
scholarship. Irrespective of the responses, 
these three factors are of exceptional 
significance to these students. 
The students and the mentors
As regards the mentorship support, the Roma students and the mentors have established a strong 
interaction which resulted in a high degree of satisfaction with their collaboration among 94.59% 
of the mentors and among 91.25% of the students. Close to half of the scholarship recipients 
stated that without the mentor they would not have achieved the results they did at the end of the 
school year. Only 8.75% of the students expressed certain reserves in regard to the assistance 
received from the mentors. 
Presented with the dilemma what to give up if they had to choose one of the two, 73.81% of the
students would still retain the scholarship. This is a difficult dilemma and it was to be expected 
that the scholarship is the stronger factor and a necessity for the students given the financial 
situation of the families. Still, the scholarship has more significance that it has influence on the 
achievement. It is a solution to a range of problems the students face, which are directly or 
indirectly linked to their education. It is encouraging, however to read that 26.19% of the 
students, despite of having to make a choice would not give up anything. They are, simply, Fam. needs Clothing School needs Phone Food Transport Entertainment
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 Chart 3.6: Use of the Scholarship Eng. Language; 2,05 Mentor; 2,45 Scholarship; 2,62
0
0,5
1
1,5
2
2,5
3
Chart 3.7 : Influence over the achievements
37
aware that these two components are inseparable. This is evidence that this component of the 
program has been successfully implemented. 
The former Program scholarship recipients 
With the aim of finding out what is the situation with the REP secondary school alumni one year 
after their completion of secondary education as assisted with the Program – information were 
collected from the students on the following issues: whether they have enrolled into university 
studies, whether they are employed or unemployed, what are they active in, whether and how 
much the Program has helped them from today’s viewpoint, etc, as part of the evaluation three 
focus groups were held on the Drim hotel in Struga on 1st and 2nd October 2009. A total of 98 
secondary school graduates, former scholarship recipients of the Program participated in three 
separate focus groups, each of them with duration of one and a half hours. 
Focus groups findings: 
The discussion with the graduate Roma students - scholarship recipients of the program revealed 
that the individuals in question were mature persons who knew full well what they want of life. 
The groups comprised current university students, employed and unemployed. 
The 2008 evaluation presented that 60.84% of the graduate secondary school students - 
scholarship recipients wished to continue their education at one of the universities in the country. 
The remaining ones who would not continue their education saw their future in employment; the 
majority of the latter were students with poorer achievements and students from families with 
severe financial difficulties. Part of them (17.86%), although wishing to enroll into higher 
education, stated clearly that they had to seek employment in order to contribute to the family 
budget. The discussion in the focus group confirmed these expectations. 
Unfortunately, not everybody wishing to continue his/her education was able to enroll into 
university, nor did those wanting to find a job get employed. This is understandable as only 51 of 
the participants in the focus groups were university students (which represents 33% of the Roma 
secondary school graduates22 who passed the state Matura or 67 % of the total number of Roma 
students enrolled in first year of university studies in the academic year 2007/08; 14 participants 
have full-time long-term employment (7% of the graduates), while additional 19 (or 9.5% of the 
graduates) are employed part-time in the NGO sector. It is interesting to mention that all of those 
who are employed occupy positions that have nothing to with the vocations that completed in 
secondary education. Only one person found employment in his area of training. 
The long discussion with these young people generated the following impressions: 
 These are young people who seemed mature for their actual age. They can well detect the 
reasons for their success or failure and learn from it. 
 The students who managed to enroll are different in their approach to questions of life in 
comparison to the others. They see their future in advancement in their careers, securing a 
decent existence for themselves and their future family. The position their own education in 
relation to the need to help the other Roma and to strengthen the Roma community. 
They do not regard themselves discriminated and see the way out of the poor situation, not 
only for themselves and for others, see in their education and proving to themselves and the 
 
22 The percentages in this paragraph refer to graduates who had participated in the Program and who completed their 
secondary education in 2008. 
38
other that they can, that they are able to and that they want to become somebody and to make 
a contribution. They are aware of the difficult situation in which the country is in and are 
thus even more persistent in completing their education as well as they can. They are 
characterized by high self-confidence, ambition and initiative. 
 The employed former scholarship recipients, although they wanted to continue their 
education, but still the poor financial situation of their families they had to work to contribute 
to the enlarging the family budget. The manner of their employment is most often diverse 
and is mostly achieved through personal acquaintances. 
 The unemployed former scholarship recipients are aware of the situation they are in. Part of 
them does not give up and through other forms of education and training are trying to 
improve their competences to succeed in finding employment. It is characteristic for all that 
they are aware that through educational advancement they have better chances of finding 
jobs. They are aware of all the anomalies in the employment processes, such as partisan 
influence, nepotism and unlawful employment channels. 
 In respect to the REP, there is full consensus that the Program is the best thing that happened 
to the Roma students in the process of their schooling. The majority stress the good 
cooperation with the mentors and express their immense gratitude for the Program which 
enabled them not only a scholarship but also gaining of a significant amount of skills and 
knowledge that they can depend on now, regardless of their current status. 
 In responding to the question of what they would change in the Program, they are all of the 
opinion that it should remain as it is and that it should aim at increasing the coverage to as 
many Roma students as possible. 
 The most significant was the recommendations coming from the participants in the focus 
groups that the Program should pay more attention to the development of soft skills among 
the new generations of students to be covered by it. Soft-skills development was emphasized 
as one their greatest gains that helped the immensely not only to complete their education but 
also to improve the quality of their life, work and future education. 
Conclusion 
The periodical evaluation of the Program identified results which speak of a significant progress 
in comparison with previous years. It managed fully to achieve the envisaged goals and 
objectives and represents a continuation of a success story in secondary education. Despite the 
large number of initial problems experienced in the previous years, the Program demonstrated 
strength, adaptability and high quality all of which resulted in a success of the students in 
secondary education. 
The mentorship system matured and established itself as strong, well-developed system which 
brings in new quality each year. It grows on the experiences that the mentors accumulated in the 
previous years, addresses in time emerging issues preventing them from becoming problems, it 
has developed mechanisms for overcoming the current weaknesses and has established itself as a 
constituent element in the work of the REP schools. The only remark regards the cooperation 
with the parents. The job description of every teacher in primary and secondary education 
contains the obligation of communication and cooperation with the parents of the students. 
Unfortunately, this element is one of the weakest links in our education system. In the case of 
Roma students, the cooperation between the teachers and the parents if of exceptional 
39
significance and should receive greater attention. Although this obligation of the mentor teachers 
has not been precisely specified as an obligation within the Program itself, the conclusion still 
remains the cooperation with parents should be especially addressed. 
The scholarship is a strong motivating factor which positively impacts the improvement of the 
achievements and regular attendance. Its linking to and conditionality on the achieved success 
was a good decision and needs to be maintained. That requires quality monitoring which can 
detect emerging issues and prevent possible wrong decisions in cases when instead of subjective 
objective impediments and factors appear which decrease the achievement and regular 
attendance of the students. 
The five years of experience and the results achieved in the implementation of the secondary 
school component of the REP point to the fact that the REP possesses all the elements of a good 
practice in working with Roma secondary school students and has the potential to be taken up by 
the state. The acknowledgement and taking over of the positive experiences and their 
incorporation in the measures/projects financed by the Government/MoES ensures the 
sustainability of the current interventions. The decision of the Government to provide 
scholarships to secondary school students needs to become a regular practice which will be 
enhanced with the two other program components (the mentorship and the academic assistance). 
Such a synergy will provide for better efficiency to this government measure. 
This evaluation showed that the results from the implementation of the Program will increase 
with time because interventions in education do not produce short-term effects. On the contrary, 
it is to be expected that each year will produce better results. 
40
Goal 4: To promote equal opportunities and increase the academic 
achievements of Roma students at State Universities 
The Roma Student Support Program was designed so as to facilitate diverse kinds of support. 
Thus, in addition to the scholarship and support by “Romaversitas” (trainings, educational￾informational courses, , information, logistics ,the students were also involved in a mentorship 
system which meant selection of mentors (university professors and teaching assistants) who 
helped them in their learning and the progress in their studies. However, the Evaluation showed 
that despite the good functioning of the mentorship system, certain problems appeared that 
adversely affected the successful advancement of the Roma students. This primarily refers to the 
weak motivation among part of the mentors (primarily the professors) and their lack of free time, 
both of which directly affected the frequency of the meetings with the students and hence the 
quality of the progress. It turned out that the mentors were most successful in the preparation of 
Roma students for the subject/subjects they realize in the study Programs that they are involved 
in. Similarly, the research showed that it could have been possible for the mentors to influence 
other professors to the benefit of the students - scholarship recipients, which is not in accordance 
with the basic principles of the Program. 
It is because of this, and in line with the Program for constant improvement, that in the academic 
year 2006/07, the mentorship system was replaced with a tutorship system, with tutorials being 
offered throughout the academic year. The PTS provided voucher credits to be used by any 
Roma student; one student could use a maximum of 50 voucher credits in the course of the year 
(1 voucher credit equaling 60 minutes). Students defined the specific topics, primarily relating to 
the mandatory subjects, which they worked on with the tutor or tutors (the latter in case there 
were more subjects and/or topics for which the student needed support). The students were 
required to draft a plan of activities which was submitted to Romaversitas. The tutor(s) were 
identified by the student or by Romaversitas (in case the student was unable to identify the tutor 
relevant to the topic /specific knowledge needed). The tutors were selected among the graduates 
and senior students with outstanding academic achievements, as well among the junior teaching 
assistants. 
The PTS was administered and monitored by the Romaversitas staff. The implementers of the 
Program were fully convinced that the tutorial system will manage to overcome the problems in 
the functioning of the mentorship system and that it will improve the speed and quality of the 
progress of the Roma students included in the tertiary education system. 
Coverage 
Academic year 2004/05 
The student support component started with providing scholarships for 63 Roma students 
enrolled in the first year of education at the universities in the Republic of Macedonia. 
Academic year 2005/06 
The Program covered a total of 48 scholarship recipients from different academic years. Of 
them, 38 students had mentors (a total of 28 mentors were engaged - professors, junior teaching 
assistants, part-time external assistants and students-peers with an average achievement of over 
8.0023), who supported one or more students, with 2 students attending the same study course at 
most. 
 
23 On the scale of 5 to 10, 5 meaning fail and 6-10 representing passing grades, with 10 being the highest. 
41
Of these scholarship recipients, in the course of the academic year 2006/07, 4 students graduated 
and a further 8 completed the attendance of the required lectures. Only 6 students did not manage 
to enroll into the next semester on time. 
Academic year 2006/07 
An analysis was conducted of the achievements of each scholarship recipient individually and 
also of the overall Program implementation. On the basis of the results, a selection was made 
resulting in 29 scholarship recipients (15 male and 14 female) of the 36 covered in 2005/06 who 
did not fall into the group graduating or completing attendance of lectures, being able to continue 
to receive a scholarship, on the basis of their achievements and fulfillment of the Program 
criteria. 
Of these 29 scholarship recipients, only 9 used tutors in 2006/07 (from April to June/July); for 
them a total of 12 tutors were engaged - teaching assistants, part-time external assistants and 
students-peers with a high average achievement. 
Academic year 2007/08, 
The Program (FOSIM/Romaversitas) entered its third development phase. On the basis of the 
periodic evaluations and the efforts to increase the number of Roma students who are benefiting 
from the services of the Foundation and Romaversitas, a new Program design was created. 
Unlike previous years, when only the students – scholarship recipients received support, the 
Program brought in a new dimension – academic support of students who are not scholarship 
recipients of the Program, thus increasing the number of Roma students receiving support from 
the Program. To this end, in the course of this year, the Program supported two categories of 
students – 35 students - scholarship recipients and 45 students - non-recipients of scholarships by 
the Program. In addition to the scholarship awarded to the scholarship recipients by the Program, 
all students had the opportunity to, depending on their needs and interests, use additional 
academic support, such as: tutorship, English language, IT, participation in other training events. 
Academic year 2008/09, 
In the academic year 2008/09, the Program (FOSIM/Romaversitas) entered its fourth phase. 
Similarly as in the previous year, to categories of students received support: 
1. 35 students – scholarship recipients (17 male and 18 female) received scholarships (USAID) 
and additional academic support. 25 out of 35 students were scholarship recipients also in the 
previous academic year (2007/08), while the other 10 students were selected in an open call 
at the begging of the 2008/09 academic year. 
2. 47 other Roma students who did not receive USAID scholarships, but has the opportunity to 
use the additional academic support. Of these 47 students, 18 (8 male and 10 female) 
benefited from the academic support – tutoring assistance and similarly to the scholarship 
recipients, they had the opportunity to attend workshops, courses in foreign language and IT 
skills, to apply for and participate in student initiatives and projects, to e part of the summer 
school, to write articles for the student newsletter Roma Index and also to use books from the 
library. 
Research methodology 
For the purposes of the Roma Student Support Program: To promote equal opportunities and 
increase the academic achievements of Roma students at State Universities, a research was 
42
carried out among 35 USAID scholarship recipients (17male and 18 female) and 47 other Roma 
students, non- scholarship recipients ( 27 male and 20 female) 
The evaluation consisted of two basic components: 
3) review and analysis of the Romaversitas documentation (periodical reports and student 
portfolios) in order to record the actual situation of the students – scholarship recipients 
at the universities in the Republic of Macedonia for the periods of 2005/06, 2006/07, 
2007/08 and 2008/09. 
4) conducting of an empirical research aimed at ascertaining the opinions and attitudes of 
the university students on their own progress and on the implementation of the Program. 
The research covered a sample of 34 USAID scholarship recipients24 (16 male and 18 female) 
and 47 Roma students, non-scholarship recipients (27 male and 20 female). It was conducted 
through: 
- Documentation analysis: 35 USAID scholarship recipients and 47 other Roma students, non￾scholarship recipients. 
- Periodically Rapports: 35 Roma university students from the universities in the Republic of 
Macedonia, recipients of scholarships from 2007 to 2008. 
- Questionnaires: 34 USAID scholarship recipients (16 male and 18 female) and 47 Roma 
students, non- scholarship recipients (27 male and 20 female). 
For the purpose of greater objectivity of the study, all the phases of the empirical research were 
characterized by a high degree of anonymity and protection of the interviewee data. Objective 
data was obtained from the universities and anonymous questionnaires were applied. his 
increased the level of objectivity of the results, which makes this research a realistic presentation 
of the situation of the Roma students participating in the REP. 
The periodical evaluation was carried out in from June to October 2009 by the Research Team. 
The analysis of the results obtained will be presented in the context of the fourth main goal (Goal 
4) of the Roma Education Program and functionally related to it. 
Previous Evaluations: 
In 2005, a periodical evaluation was conducted which showed that the REP is being 
implemented successfully and is yielding excellent results in the tertiary education sector. 
Simultaneously, part of the results obtained which indicated certain weaknesses and possible 
adverse processes, especially in respect to the negative influence of external factors such as: poor 
finances, seasonal work of the parents and students themselves, the educational level of the 
parents, the insufficient expert support by the parents, etc., as well the remarks on the work of 
part of the mentors, the needs for additional training of students and mentors, etc. were all used 
as the basis for the corrections in the REP itself and its implementation process in the course of 
2005 – 2006. 
In 2006, the second periodical evaluation of the REP university component was carried out. The 
results showed that this component was realized successfully and a high degree of satisfaction 
was established among the students with the cooperation with FOSIM/Romaversitas. 
 
24 During the research one student was not available due to a trip abroad. 
43
Students were making progress in respect to their learning, within their abilities. The problems 
that arose were not strong enough and were not of such a nature to hamper their learning and 
overall progress; the only remark made regarding their lesson attendance rate and a 
recommendation was made to aim for improvements in this area. 
The mentorship system, although functioning well left room for rethinking a possible 
improvement. Given that the students who did not have a mentor achieved similar average 
success rates as the students – scholarship recipients, it was necessary to re-examine whether the 
mentorship system was necessary and/or, if necessary, how it could be made better. In line with 
such comments, the mentorship system was abandoned in 2007. 
In 2007 the third evaluation of the university component was conducted. 
The mentorship system was replaced by a tutorship system; although the former had functioned 
with success, some problems in its functioning left room for improvement. The tutorship system 
proved itself a good solution for overcoming the said problems and is expected to be accepted by 
a larger number of students in the future Program implementation. 
The recommendations from the evaluation suggested that the coming period needs to see a 
continuation of the permanent monitoring of the Program realization. It is important to ensure 
that weaknesses that appear are detected on time in order for them to be overcome efficiently. 
Romaversitas needs to continue its work and to constantly keep in mind the interests and needs 
of the students, so that it can ensure their timely addressing. It is evident that the activities in the 
coming period need to be primarily of educational nature, as has been requested by the majority 
of students (73.68%), as well as in the area of strengthening student competencies for languages, 
computer skills, writing skills, research skills, presentation skills, verbal skills and employment 
skills, which is of huge interest to the Roma students. 
In 2008, the fourth evaluation of the university component of REP was completed and the 
following conclusions and recommendations were made. 
The evaluation showed a high degree of satisfaction not only on the part of the student’s 
scholarship recipients but also on the part of the other students. The same kind of satisfaction 
with the cooperation and achievements is present among the employees of the Romaversitas 
staff. 
As regards learning, the students are progressing successfully within their abilities. The 
emerging problems are insufficiently strong and are not of such a nature that they could hamper 
the learning and the overall progress of the students. 
The tutorship system is functioning well and has shown itself to be a good solution for 
overcoming the problems that plagued the mentorship system and can be expected to be accepted 
by the majority of students in the near future. 
Attention needs to be paid to the dissatisfaction expressed by the students with the professors and 
their assessment. This problem merits careful review and monitoring by Romaversitas. 
In light of the worsening of the economic situation in the state and the weakening of the financial 
power of the families, an increase of the amount of the scholarship might be considered. It is 
easy to foresee how the financial power of the family, the additional work engagement of the 
44
students for the purpose of contributing to the family budget could emerge as strong factors of 
negative influence in the coming period. 
Romaversitas should continue its work, which it currently does well, and constantly take into 
account the needs and interests of the students so that it is able to respond to them in time. It is 
evident that future activities should include enhancement of the activities of an educational 
nature, for which interest was expressed by the majority of students. In the process, additional 
efforts need to be made to stimulate a greater number of students - scholarship recipients and 
those who do not receive scholarships to attend the training events and to use the services 
provided by Romaversitas. 
The communication needs to be further strengthened and a data collection system improved for 
monitoring of and obtaining feedback from students who are not scholarship recipients to use the 
Romaversitas services. The creation of a global Data-base for Roma students (regardless whether 
they are scholarship recipients or not) would be a good basis for a comparison and appraisal of 
the Program. 
The evaluation in 2009 was conducted with the assistance of Romaversitas. The research used 
data received from the data base of Romaversitas and also data collected in the field for the 
purpose of the research. In order to ensure as high a possible objectivity of the evaluation, all 
phases of the empirical research were carried out with a high degree of anonymity and 
interviewee personal data protection. Objective data were obtained from the universities and 
anonymous questionnaires were also received. This elevated the level of objectivity of the 
results, which makes this research a realistic presentation of the situation of the Roma students 
participating in the REP. 
EVALUATION 2009 
In the academic year 2008/09, the Program covered a total of 82 university students from 
different academic years (35 USAID scholarship recipients (17 male and 18 female) and 47 other 
Roma students, non- scholarship recipients (27 male and 20 female). 
Table 1 
Tutor assistance
RV beneficiaries Students who 
received 
tutoring 
support 
Students 
who 
received 
tutoring on 
1 subject
Students 
who 
received 
tutoring on 
2 subjects
Students 
who 
received 
tutoring on 
3 subjects
Total number 
of tutoring 
subjects 
Total number 
of tutors 
USAID 
Scholarship 
recipients 
5 2 2 1 9 9 
Non scholarship 
Students 18 7 7 4 33 21 
Total 23 9 9 5 42 30 
Of 35 recipients of USAID scholarship, 5 students benefited from tutorial support. For the needs 
of the students, 9 tutors were engaged for providing assistance in their learning in a total of 9 
subjects (1 student could be tutored in 2 subjects at most at one particular time). The tutors were 
most often junior assistants, demonstrators, valedictorian students in general or in the subject 
area he would be tutoring in, and graduated students. In total, in the course of the academic year, 
these students used 164 tutor hours or on average 32.8 hours per student. 
45
Of these scholarship recipients, 3 students graduated and 4 completed the attendance of the 
required lectures in the course of the academic year 2008/09. All students fulfilled the 
requirements for the enrolment into the following semester or group of subjects, no student 
dropped out, while one student was abroad in the period when the research was conducted. 
Of 35 recipients of USAID scholarships, 17 students also attended training on various topics: 
Team work, Leadership, Time management, Critique and criticism, Conflict management, 
Active citizenship, Advocacy and lobbying, Public speech and debate, English Language and 
Computer Courses, and used the Internet and the library, whereas four students participated in 
student initiatives/projects. 
The Program covered also 47 other Roma students, non-scholarship recipients who had the 
opportunity to use additional academic support in the same manner as the students scholarship 
recipients. 18 students took up this opportunity and benefited from a total of 632 hours of tutor 
assistance in 33 subjects from 21 tutors, or on average 35.11 tutor hours per student. The tutors 
were selected according to the same criteria for the previous category of students. 
Of the 47 non-scholarship recipients, 38 students also attended training on various topics, 
whereas 8 students participated in student initiatives/projects. 
In the course of the academic year 2008/09, 10 students completed the required lecture 
attendance with 5 students failing to enroll into the subsequent semester or group of subjects. 
Students and universities
Data shows that in the course of the study year 2008/09, of the 35 USAID Scholarship recipients, 
22 Roma students enrolled at the “Sts Cyril and Methodius” University in Skopje (UKIM), 0 
student at the Southeast Europe University in Tetovo (SEEU), 5 students at the “St. Clement of 
Ohrid” University in Bitola (UKLO), 3 at the State University of Tetovo (DUT) and 5 at the 
“Goce Delchev” University in Shtip (UGD).(See Tab. 2) 
Table 2 Distribution of USAID scholarship students according to year of study, gender and 
universities
35 USAID 
scholarship recipients Male Female TOTAL Natural Science 
 students 
Social Science 
 students 
I year 4	 5 9 / 9	
II year 10	 11 21 1 20	
III year 3	 2 5 / 5	
IV year /	 / / / /	
Total 17 18 35 1 34
UKIM – Skopje 12	 10 22 1 21	
UKLO - Bitola 2	 3 5 / 5	
SEEU - Tetovo /	 / / / /	
DUT - Tetovo 1	 2 3 / 3	
UGD - Shtip 2	 3 5 / 5	
Similarly, the data shows that in the course of the study year 2008/09, of the 47 Roma students - 
non-scholarship recipients, 35 enrolled at the “Sts Cyril and Methodius” University in Skopje 
(UKIM), 3 at the Southeast Europe University in Tetovo (SEEU), 5 at the “St. Clement of 
Ohrid” University in Bitola (UKLO), 3 at the State University of Tetovo (DUT) and 1 at the 
“Goce Delchev” University in Shtip (UGD).(See Tab. 3) 
46
Table 3 Distribution of students - non-scholarship-recipients according to year of study, gender and 
universities 
47 Roma students, 
 non- scholarship 
 recipients 
Male Female TOTAL Natural Science 
students 
Social Science 
students 
I year 2 4 6 / 6 
II year 8 3 11 1 10 
III year 8 5 13 3 10 
IV year 8 7 15 2 13 
V year 1 1 2 2 / 
VI year / / / / / 
Total 27 20 47 8 39 
UKIM – Skopje 21 14 35 8 27 
UKLO - Bitola 4 1 5 / 5 
SEEU - Tetovo / 3 3 / 3 
DUT - Tetovo 1 2 3 / 3 
UGD - Shtip 1 / 1 / 1 
The distribution according to the year of study indicates that in the academic year 2008/09 there 
is an even distribution of the students without a pronounced concentration. Given that the 
Program is in its advanced phases, the number of scholarship recipients in the upper years is 
increasing. The Program implemented decided to include 10 new students from the first and the 
second year at the expense of those students who have demonstrated good achievements and are 
not in need of additional assistance. This decision is justifiable given the general conclusion that 
all students and especially Roma students, who for the major part have evidently weaker 
educational start-up positions, are in need of support precisely in the initial years of study. 
On the issue of subject areas, the USAID Scholarship recipients were in the course of the 
academic year 2008/09 included in study programs in the area of natural sciences (1) and social 
sciences (34). The majority (24) are enrolled at teacher training faculties. 
The disaggregation of the other students - non-scholarship recipients is similar; in their case too, 
there is a tendency for majority enrolment in social sciences. 
By analyzing the selection of the faculties and scientific areas, it can be concluded that the Roma 
students prefer social sciences. This choice is in line with the general trend in the country where 
socio-political and humanistic sciences dominate as the most attractive study options among the 
student population. For a while now, the technical, natural and bio-medical sciences are not 
sufficiently attractive for the secondary school graduates, and the faculties educating such 
scientific profiles have problems in filling the enrolment quotas, i.e. have small number of 
students. 
This evaluation too, confirms the conclusion presented in 2006/07 and 2007/08, that from the 
perspective of the general problems the Roma population faces, such a choice has its advantages. 
The majority of students enroll in study courses which educate teachers. Given that research 
analyzing Roma issues in the country so far put to the forefront the issues of education and 
selected the lack of Roma teachers in schools as one of the stronger factors that adversely affect 
the educational achievements of Roma students, such a choice of the REP students is significant 
not only in respect of their own future, but benefits the whole Roma population in the state. 
Students and Tutors 
The personal tutoring scheme (PTS) offered assistance as needed and was open to all Roma 
university students throughout the academic year. PTS was designed to help the Roma students 
comprehend the complex academic contents and to provide possibilities for remedying any 
47
problems which could be encountered in the individual lecture courses. In order to be able to 
respond to the specific students’ needs, Romaversitas launched a PTS Voucher System. 
According to status as of 24th September 2009, 5 students out of 35 scholarship recipients used 
tutor support from 9 tutors engaged for a total of 9 academic subjects. All students can use 
during the academic year a total of 50 tutorship credits for academic subject(s) which they 
choose according to their need. Tutors are young assistants, demonstrators, students with good 
academic track record and graduate students. Students - scholarship-recipients had the 
opportunity to attend English language courses, participate in workshops (Team work, 
Leadership, Time management, Critique and criticism and Conflict management) and the 
Summer school (Active citizenship, Public representation and lobbying and Introduction to 
debate), to write for the Roma Index student magazine and to be part of student project and 
initiative teams. 
The other students25, who did not receive USAID scholarships, used the opportunity to benefit 
from tutor assistance. Of the total of 47 students, 18 made use of assistance by tutors. To this 
end, 21 tutors were hired to provide coaching in a total of 33 subjects. These 18 students 
attended a total of 644 tutor hours in the course of the academic year. The same preconditions for 
receiving assistance from tutors were applied for these students too as well as for the students - 
scholarship recipients. Each of these students had the opportunity to use a total of 50 tutor hours 
in the course of the entire academic year. The tutors hired were junior assistants, demonstrators, 
valedictorian students and graduated students. 
It is obvious that the tutorship system is well set up and yields results, and hence confirms the 
decision for it to replace the mentorship system which was applied until the academic year 
2006/07. It is no surprise at all that only 5 students of the scholarship recipients used tutor 
assistance in this academic year. The majority of these students had the opportunity to use tutors 
in the course of their studying in the last two years and, as the previous periodic evaluations 
showed, expressed a high degree of satisfaction with the tutorship system and indicated that it 
had helped them greatly to overcome the initial difficulties. The majority of students (65.22%) 
who did not use the help of a tutor stated as reason for that the fact that they had not been in need 
of tutor assistance. It is evident that only the poorer achievers and those most in need of 
additional help use the assistance of tutors in their studying. This only goes to confirm the 
justifiability of the replacement of the mentorship system which had certain weaknesses and 
often formalized the implementation. 
The mentorship system started off from the assumption that each student needs assistance and 
support in the course of the studying. This assumption was incorrect in the case of more 
successful students and most frequently ended in a formalization of this system. In addition, the 
motivation of the mentors, who for the most part were university professors, were quite low 
leading to irregular performance, poor effects and in some cases a high level of dissatisfaction on 
the part of those students who really needed the assistance. On the other hand, some students 
have unrealistic expectations from their cooperation with the professors in respect to their 
obligations, not only for the programs (subjects) of the professors-mentors but especially in the 
programs of the other subjects. All these shortcomings were overcome with the introduction of 
the tutorship system. In this system assistance was provided only to those students who really 
needed it; the choice was made by the student him/herself, which from the perspective of his/her 
motivation was a moment of significance. 
 
25 Of these students 25, or 53.19%, receive scholarships from another source. 
48
Evidence of this are the students - non-scholarship recipients who opted for the use of tutor 
assistance. If we look at the ratio of these students and the students who did not use tutor 
assistance, we will see that the majority of students using tutor assistance are those who had 
failed to enroll into the following semester/group of subjects, i.e. the weaker students, who are in 
obvious need of additional help, and also students who had completed attendance at lectures and 
are about to pass the final exam or are in the process of preparing the graduation paper. 
The best confirmation for the successfulness of the tutorship system are the very statements by 
the students, who without exception indicate a high degree of satisfaction with the cooperation 
with the tutors and with the assistance they provided and rate the satisfaction with an average 
grade of 9, on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being highest). Most often, the focus of the tutor assistance 
is placed on the preparedness of the students for passing the exam in a specific subject 
(successfulness graded with 9) and planning the studying time (successfulness graded with 
8.83). Most frequent location of meetings between students and their tutors was the faculty and 
rarer the tutor’s home. 
Similar responses in regard to the tutor assistance were obtained from the students - non￾recipients of scholarships. There too, a high degree of satisfaction with the work of the tutors is 
evident. A dominant reason for not opting for the use of tutors by the other students is the reason 
– I had no need of a tutor. It is obvious that lack of information had also influenced this decision 
of theirs, because a part of them did not use a tutor also because they did not believe that tutors 
could help them and displayed a certain degree of reservation towards the use of tutor assistance. 
The responses of the scholarship recipients and non-scholarship recipients who used tutor 
assistance give the best picture of the work of the tutors. Without exception, all the qualities 
which a tutor should posses were highly rated by the students. Thus, the categories: motivates me 
to learn, taught me how to learn, prepares me for an exam, helped me achieve better results and 
progress in my studying, sets aside more time for me, was motivated to work with me, respects 
my opinion, I felt good in working with him/her, the meetings were held following the 
previously agreed plan, the results from the cooperation were better, makes me be more 
persistent in my learning and work more, offers me assistance in the subject where I needed it, 
followed the progress of studying, and the use of the time was more rational, on the scale of 
agreement starting from 1 – I do not agree to 4 – I fully agree, show an average agreement status 
of 3.76, which represents a high degree of concurrence. 
On the basis of the data received, we can conclude that the tutorship system has managed to 
successfully substitute the mentorship system. A confirmation for this conclusion can be found 
in the statements of the students who have been receiving tutoring. In the selection of the 
strongest factor of influence over their progress, the students placed the assistance provided by 
the tutors at the same level with the scholarship and the activities of Romaversitas, whereas those 
students - non-scholarship recipients who used the opportunity for tutor assistance highlight this 
assistance as the strongest factor for their progress. 
Academic support 
In addition to the tutor assistance, the students - scholarship recipients and the students - non￾recipients of scholarships benefited also from additional academic support for strengthening their 
competences. 
In the course of 2008/09, FOSIM/Romaversitas implemented a full and diverse Program focused 
on the Roma students with the aim of improving their academic competencies and stimulating 
their motivation for learning. The program offered to the students consists of different types of 
49
activities of informative and educational nature. There, we should firstly mention the great 
number of training events attended by a large number of students. 
Table 4 offers insight into the numerous workshops implemented on specific topics. Students 
singe out as most attractive for them learning foreign languages and courses in Active 
citizenship, Advocacy and lobbying, Public speech and debate, IT use and Time management. 
Table 4. Basic data on implemented workshops for students 
Workshop topic No. of 
training days 
Number of students participants 
USAID 
scholarship students Other, Total number 
of participants 
Team work 1 5 10 15 
Leadership 1 5 9 14 
Time management 1 4 14 18 
Critique and criticism 1 4 9 13 
Conflict management 1 3 8 11 
Active citizenship 1 10 12 22 
Advocacy and lobbying 2 10 12 22 
Public speech and debate 2 10 12 22 
English language / 14 21 35 
IT / 10 10 20 
The review shows that the majority of the activities are in direct correlation with the interests of 
the students, which indicates strong support not only in the course of their studies but also in the 
area of their personal development. 
The high degree of satisfaction of students with the workshops speaks to their quality. The 
average grade the students - scholarship recipients award these activities is 9.48, on a scale of 1 
to 10 (10 being highest), which is almost a top mark for successfulness and quality. A similarly 
high grade was given to these activities also by the students - non-recipients of scholarships 
(9.16). All this testifies to the high degree of organization and efficiency in the work of 
Romaversitas in the implementation of these activities. 
Table 4.1: Assessment of training in: 
1 Team work 
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2 Leadership 
3 Time management 
4 Critique and criticism 
5 Conflict management 
6 Active citizenship 
7 Advocacy and lobbying 
8 Public speech and debate 
9 English language 
10 IT 
Somewhat less is the satisfaction with the offer for using the library, the internet and the learning 
facilities (7.03). If we know that at the majority of universities in the country there is free 
internet access and a high degree of computerization, as well as richer libraries and better spatial 
conditions to those available at Romaversitas, the still high degree of satisfaction displayed by 
the students it somewhat surprising. However, the advantage of Romaversitas is the flexibility to 
offer these services to the students after their activities at the faculties. Given that the majority of 
50
them do not posses such facilities in the home, the availability of these services is highly 
significant to them. 
 
Student achievements
The results show that the Roma students are 
characterized by an average success rate in their studies 
which is 7.1926, with no difference in the success rate 
between male and female students. Unlike in 2007/08, 
when the majority of them, or 73.46%, stated in the 
evaluation that the achievement was a realistic 
reflection of their abilities and demonstrated results, 
this year, close to half of the students believe that their 
grades are not a realistic reflection of their abilities. 
(Chart 1). 
If we compare the achievement/success rate with that of the previous years, when a slight 
increase could be noticed, a decline in the achievements/success is evident. It is difficult to offer 
a valid interpretation for the reasons for this decline in achievements. It is apparent that this is 
due to the influence of a number of factors. 
1) Only 3 students maintain that the teachers did not assess realistically their abilities and 
knowledge. Thus, the teachers are not the cause. The reasons must be sought outside of 
the universities. 
2) As much as 91.43% stated that they attended classes regularly, unlike the previous year 
when that percentage was much lower. Thus, also attendance is not a reason. 
3) Last year’s evaluation indicated the emergence of a strong factor that negatively impacts 
student achievements, namely family problems, an issue which did not exert strong 
influence in the course of the previous years. 
4) What the previous evaluation foretold emerged in full force this year. Nearly three 
quarters of the students (71.43%) stated that the poor domestic learning conditions and 
the family problems presented a significant obstacle in their learning. We need to bearing 
in mind that the global economic crisis impacted strongly the country, affecting intensely 
the most vulnerable population groups, increase the number of unemployed and caused 
financial impoverishment of the population. The Roma, traditionally the most vulnerable 
group in the country, are always hardest hit by any economic turbulence. It is to be 
assumed that this situation is not the only factor affecting the achievements of the Roma 
students, but it is definitely one of the most significant reasons for the declining study 
achievement/success rate. 
The previous conclusions are to be understood only as an indication what needs to be monitored 
and paid greater attention to in the coming period. There is a need for identifying the problems 
related to the achievement and for overcoming them. FOSIM and Romaversitas need to pay 
greater attention to this issue, as there is a threat for this influence to cause more damage in the 
coming period than it is doing now. 
Unlike previous year, when the number of students who had managed to enroll into the 
subsequent semester was only 76.32%, this year that number reached a full 100.00%. This means 
that maybe in this year a higher average mark was not attained, but the students are far more 
 
26 On a scale of 5 to 10, 5 being a failing grade. 
Chart 1: Average study success
7,46 7,46 8,06
7,19
5
6
7
8
9
10
2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09
51
successful in completing their study obligations than before. This speaks to the fact that in the 
course of last year, the disparities in the achievements were much greater than is the case now. 
The evaluation confirmed the conclusion stated in the previous reports that the Program has 
managed not only to increase the number of Roma students in higher education, but also to help 
those enrolled to remain in education and progress successfully. Therefore, it is to be expected 
that higher education continues its affirmation in the Roma community and that the number of 
Roma students increases in future. In addition to the interventions of the state in this sphere, 
which have been increasing in recent times, the strongest influence in the improvement of this 
situation comes undoubtedly from this Program. This conclusion is also the opinion of the 
Government of the Republic of Macedonia, which constantly stresses the need for increasing the 
educational level of the Roma as one of the most important conditions for improvement of their 
financial situation and enrichment of the culture of living. 
In comparison with the year 2004/05 when 44.44% and the year 2006/07 when 14.58% lost the 
entitlement to a scholarship due to poor learning results, data from 2008/09 represents a 
significant progress in the area of prevention of drop-out among Roma students in higher 
education. Only 8.57% of the students would abandon their studies if they did not receive a 
scholarship. It is evident that despite the problems these students face, they are determined and 
highly motivated to complete their education. 
Despite the previous statement, it is evident that receiving the scholarship has a very motivating 
influence on the Roma students. All the more so as 82.86% stated that the scholarship is 
sufficient to cover their expenses and at the same it is a huge support to their families. In 
comparison to previous years, the role of the scholarship in the successful progress of the Roma 
students is somewhat more pronounced. We believe that this is due to the declining standard of 
living among the population and the increased studying costs. 
This data again confirms the already ascertained fact that one of the most significant factors that 
adversely affect the participation of Roma in higher education is their poor financial status. 
Student attendance 
A confirmation of the successful development 
of the Program can be found in the fact that as 
regards the regular attendance, the Roma 
students have maintained the positive 
attendance trend expressed in 2006/07 and 
2007/08. The implementation of the Bologna 
Recommendations in higher education in the 
Republic of Macedonia affirmed that regular 
attendance of teaching is one of the key factors 
for successful advancement of students. 
Because of this and also because of the stricter 
conditions for retaining the scholarship (success/achievements and regular attendance), this 
positive trend is not surprising at all. 
However, it is not only the new organization of teaching in higher education that is the reason for 
the regular attendance of the students. We must take into account the influence of the Program as 
well. Evidence can be found in the fact that the USAID scholarship recipients demonstrate a 
better attendance rate (91.43%) in comparison to the students - non-recipients of scholarships, of 
54,54
84,21
88,00 91,72 91,43
0
20
40
60
80
100
2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09
Chart 2: Regular attendance
52
whom only 76.59% stated that they attend classes regularly. (Chart 2). Of the latter group, those 
students receiving a scholarship from another source also display a high attendance rate. It is 
evident that the preconditions for being awarded a scholarship have an impact on the 
improvement of the regular attendance of students. 
Students and socialization 
From the perspective of socialization, it is evident that the Roma students are exceptionally well 
integrated in higher education. As much as 94.11% of the interviewees stated that they felt good, 
that they were accepted by other students and maintained regular formal and informal contacts. 
Given that all previous evaluations of the Program established this situation, it could be 
concluded with certainty that discrimination is not present in the student milieu, and that Roma 
manage to successfully integrate in it. 
 
From the viewpoint of socialization it is evident that the Roma students are extremely well 
integrated in higher education. As much as 94.11% of the interviewees stated that they felt good, 
that they were accepted by the other students, and that they maintained regular formal and non￾formal contacts. Given that all previous evaluations of the Program confirm this assertion, we 
can with certainty conclude that in the academic milieu there is no occurrence of discrimination 
and that Roma are well integrated into it. Unlike the 2007/08 evaluation, when 20.00% of the 
students blamed teacher for unrealistic assessment, this year that percentage went down to 
8.57%. 
Students and Romaversitas:
The “Romaversitas” staff is a crucial factor for the implementation of the Program. They 
perform their function through maintenance of records and provision of logistical support to the 
Program, though detection and motivation of the students and organization of informative, 
educational and other activities. 
In the course of 2008/09, FOSIM /Romaversitas implemented a full and diverse Program 
focused on the Roma students with the aim of improving their academic competencies and 
stimulating their motivation for learning. The program offered to the students consists of 
different types of activities of informative and educational nature. 
The report reveals that the majority of the activities are in direct correlation with the interests of 
the students, which ensures strong support not only in the course of their studying but also in the 
area of their personal development. 
The implementation of the activities in the past and the strong support Romaversitas provides to 
the Roma students increased its reputation among the students. Both categories of indicate a high 
degree of satisfaction with the cooperation with Romaversitas. It is worth mentioning that no 
student expressed dissatisfaction with the work on this Program. This is also backed up by the 
high degree of agreement among the students that the contribution of Romaversitas in the 
realization of the Program is significant, thus confirming the conclusion that Romaversitas plays 
a key role in the achievement of the Program objectives. 
Information received on Romaversitas activities came from an array of sources (other students, 
the Romaversitas web page and Romaversitas staff. This clearly speaks to the fact that the 
popularity of Romaversitas is increasing among the students and so is its attractiveness not only 
to the scholarship recipients of USAID but also to other students as well. 
53
It is encouraging to see that information on the activities being implemented is obtained through 
direct contact between the Romaversitas staff and the students and much rarer through the 
Romaversitas web page and through the word of mouth, i.e. other students. A testimony to the 
successful work of Romaversitas on the realization of the Program is the fact that the students 
rated highly the contribution of Romaversitas in their progress and that the activities realized 
were marked by a high level of organization and in accordance with the needs of the students. 
The 2007/08 evaluation concluded that one of the weaknesses in the work of Romaversitas was 
the poor communication with the students who were not USAID scholarship recipients. It is 
apparent that this shortcoming has been overcome with much success. 
The second established weakness, lack of feedback and monitoring of beneficiaries of the 
services provided by Romaversitas, has also been resolved. An efficient mechanism has been 
established for maintaining contact with all service beneficiaries. For the needs of the 2008/09 
evaluation, a thorough review of all students who have used the Romaversitas services was 
compiled, regardless whether they were scholarship recipients of USAID or not. 
Conclusion and Recommendations: 
The Roma Decade in the Republic of Macedonia was marked by several state efforts for creation 
of strategic and operational documents for supporting the Roma in the country. However, the 
greatest contribution in the realization of the priorities of this decade was given by USAID, REF 
and FOSIM/ Romaversitas, who through the Program for Supporting Roma Students realized a 
success story in the Republic of Macedonia, which is continuing. The efforts to improve the 
status and the achievements/success in the studying of the Roma population are enormous albeit 
filled with a great number of obstacles. Their effort represents a true model for the compensation 
of the state efforts in the resolving of the Roma issue in higher education. 
The evaluation confirmed the high degree of satisfaction not only in the part of the students - 
scholarship recipients but also of the other students as well, with the cooperation with 
Romaversitas. 
The main goal of the Program: Increasing the Retention Rate and Personal Capacities of Roma 
University Students is being continuously and successfully achieved and the objectives set in the 
Program have been realized in full. 
The Program objectives: To provide tutor support for the Roma university students from 
Macedonia who are in need; To ensure supplementary academic support to advance the students’ 
learning capacities; To provide open opportunities for small-size students’ initiatives and 
projects, and To make other services available to all Roma students by maintaining the education 
hub (located in the centre of Skopje), by providing PC- and Internet access and by providing 
access to primary and secondary academic literature as well as other sources of information, 
have been achieved in full.
As regards the learning, the students are progressing successfully within their potentials. What 
characterizes them are their high level of motivation and their resolve to successfully complete 
their studies. The problems that emerge and that might impede the learning and the overall 
progress of the students are strong deterrents and reflect themselves negatively on the success of 
the students, but are yet not strong enough to dissuade them from studying. 
54
The tutorship system is operating with success and has proven itself to be a good solution for 
overcoming the problems present in the mentorship system and it can be expected in the coming 
period to be accepted by the majority of Roma students. 
Given the worsening of the economic situation in the country and the weakening of the financial 
status of the families, activities need to be undertaken to mitigate their negative influence on the 
students. It could easily happen that the family financial power and the additional work of the 
students in order to supplement the family budget emerge as strong negative impact factors in the 
coming period. 
Romaversitas needs to continue its work, which id does with success, and to continually take into 
account the needs and interests of the students in order to be able to meet them suitably and in 
time. It is obvious that in the coming period it needs to ensure continuance and strengthening of 
activities of educational nature, for which interest was expressed by the majority of students. 
The communication with the students needs to be strengthened i.e. “more intense” work needs 
to be done with those students who have reservation in the abilities of the tutor to aid them. 
Maybe the establishment of a suitable office for career guidance and advice which would 
develop a more mobile and direct communication with the students could help resolve the 
respective issues. 
The involvement of the students who are not recipients of scholarships from USAID proved 
itself to be a correct step and needs to be nurtured and enhanced. 
Skopje, 2009 Ph.D Zoran Velkovski