Representations   Macedonia

Name

Unija na Srednoshkolci na Makedonija - USM
Union of Secondary School Students of Macedonia

Type of Members

Youth clubs

In each school there are Youth clubs formed by USM. Student councils are a part of them.

Amount of members

96

General Assembly

80

Budget

The total budget is €0.

Organisation's Staff

None

Year of Foundation

1991

Basic Structure

The general assembly elects the board, which is the decision making body in the organisation. The GA consists of the representatives of Youth Clubs. This board consists of nine to eleven members, plus a president. There is also an Advisor.

Other Student Unions

According to the Law of Civil Associations in Macedonia, USM is the only registered NGO that represents the secondary students on a national level.

Student Representations

It’s guaranteed that secondary students can organize themselves in student councils in the schools. However, according to the Law of Secondary education, in the School board there are no student representatives.

Students at School Level

Because the law does not state that student council representatives are members of the School Board, the students’ involvement in shaping their educational process varies from school to school, but generally it is still on a low level.

Students in Municipal or Governmental Bodies

Students are represented in the governmental institutions through USM. USM has taken part in most of the decision making processes concerning the educational system and has been included in the implementation of all the educational reforms.

Success

There has been a debate on a Law on Compulsory secondary education. USM had the main role in the process to remind that students must be provided with all facilities they need to go to school and asked for totally free education.

Also, representatives of USM had a main place in the working group for an Ethic charter in schools, formed by representatives from the Ministry of Education and Science, local municipalities, Syndicate and some other NGOs.

Hurdles

USM is recognized by the Law, schools, Institutions, Public and other NGOs as an organization with a very important place in NGO sector and as a legal representative of secondary school students.

So far there are not still any finances coming from the country (government or other institutions) that would help USM’s work and activities and that would provide it with an office and basic resources for work.

Issues

[missing data]