They study in both Macedonian and Albanian language and are also learning the first words in English
TETOVO – For the 24 students in 1st grade from Preljubiste and the villages of Ratae, ZIlce and Semsovo, it is no problem at all to study in both Macedonian and Albanian language and learn the first words in English at the same time.
The children are saluting with “dobar den”, “mirëmëngjes” and “good morning” and say goodbye with “dogledanje”, “për të mirë” and “goodbye”. In this Tetovo village, the students are jointly celebrating their home patron saints. On their birthdays, the 1st grade Macedonian student wishes: “shumë urime” and the Albanian student wishes: “sreken rodenden”.
Regular teaching and additional – integrated bilingual teaching is organized in the regional school in the Tetovo village of Preljubiste, which is part of the Central School in Semsovo. After 3 months of joint studying and hanging around since the beginning of the school year, it is not uncommon to hear a conversation and a dialogue in two languages – the native one and the “foreign” one. The children understand each other well and are friends.
The Director Burhan Ejupi says that he is extremely satisfied that particularly he is the one managing the regional integrated bilingual school.
„The 1st grade students are divided in 2 classes of 12 students each and the lectures are being held in Macedonian and Albanian language. The children are staying all day long and they have organized transportation from their villages. There is regular and informal teaching. Two teachers are teaching the children about the basic hygienic habits, peace and tolerance, ecology and they also gain knowledge in ethno, drama and artistic skills. The children are also learning how to be independent, to respect their peers, teachers and parents”, explains Ejupi.
During the visit, we have met part of the management of the school, from the NGO “Nansen Dialogue Center” from Skopje and we have also met Eva Nigord, a guest from Norway.
„I come from Oslo. I am the Director of the primary school that has been attended by children from 25 ethnic communities. We have managed to integrate the children’s wishes and interests, to overcome the ethnic barriers and in doing so, we have a huge support from the parents. In Preljubiste, I had the opportunity to experience the environment in which everybody is satisfied. Especially the children, who are extending their friendship and acquaintance, meeting their peers from the neighboring villages, as well”, says Eva Nigord.
Even from the entrance of the school in Preljubiste, you can tell that something unusual is happening there. You will notice three different alphabets on the boards, Macedonian, Albanian and English, which leads to an integrated bilingual school. The project is named after the Nobel Prize Winner, Fridtjof Nansen from Norway. Inside the school, you will notice extraordinary obedience and discipline.
„We have a huge understanding and support from the parents. The children are from the post-conflict period generations“, says the teacher Rujkov, full time employed in the regional school in Zilce.
This is a preventive pilot-project whose basic goal is to overcome the ethnic divisions. Within the frames of the cooperation between the countries, the Government of the Kingdom Norway took the responsibility for this generation to complete 5th grade, i.e. until the year 2013. After that period, it will be decided among the current participants and supporters- the Jegunovce Municipality, the Bureau for development of the education at the Ministry of Education and the Government of Norway.
Gojko Evtovski
