Skopje, 5 February 2024 (MIA) - Ahead of the student protest scheduled to take place in front of the Ministry of Education and Science at 2 pm on Monday, Education Minister Jeton Shaqiri posted on Facebook that all students who meet the criteria have already received scholarship payments.

He urged students not to allow themselves to be manipulated by disinformation and malicious calls and to direct their energy on receiving better results in the February exam session.

"Dear students, as you are reading this post, all of you who meet the criteria for extension and retroactive payment of the settlement have already received scholarships. I sincerely want to thank all departments in charge of this process. I call on you to use your concentration and energy for achieving greater success in the upcoming exams, and I urge that you don't allow yourselves to be manipulated by disinformation and malicious calls. Good luck," Shaqiri said.

He also noted that amounts for student meal and scholarship have been increased, and the difference in scholarships for the previous period has already been paid, which, he adds, "proves our commitment to students."

The protest is set to take place in front of the Ministry of Education at 2pm on Monday, where students will get to express their dissatisfaction with the Ministry's inefficiency in terms of observing the deadlines for scholarship payments and other subsidies.

The protest is organized by the Student Union at the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje (UKIM), and is supported by students from other universities across the country, as well as the informal organization "Student Resistance." ssh/nn/

Photo: MIA archive