Controversial Macedonian Textbook To Be Rewritten

Macedonian Education Minister Nikola Todorov said he felt responsible for the outcry over the book for fifth-graders - but said he was not to blame for decisions over the text.

“The authors, the reviewers, the national commission for textbooks and the head of the pedagogical service should be held accountable for the content,” the minister said.

Members of the public criticised the book over a section highlighting TV show host Nora Shakiri, celebrity Toni Mihajlovski and saxophone player Ferus Mustafov as being notable people from the field of culture, while no writer or painter entered the list.

The National Association of Writers, DPM was among the strongest critics.

Vele Smilevski of DPM on Friday called the content of the textbook “a sad mistake” with potentially “catastrophic consequences” for the education system.

Macedonia’s main opposition party, the Social Democrats, over the weekend urged the minister to step down.

They said the controversy was just the latest in a series of problems with the government's handling of educational books, accusing Todorov’s ministry of being late with the printing and distribution of several textbooks.

The controversy comes just 15 days before the start of the new school year in September.

Todorov said he would try to make the corrections before the term started.

He said the whole book would be revised and, if more mistakes were found, it might be rewritten entirely.