__________________________ VLADE STERIOVSKI - Part 04

Многу се патиштата низ кои еден народ ја постига својата слобода. Но еден од тие предизвикува восхит: патот на чесната и смела борба. И македонскиот народ покажува со нескршливиот си дух колку е цврсто неговото родољубие, во кое е олицетворена неговата чест, совест и достоинство. Народ кој го заштитувал и го заштитува своето право на самоопределување, како македонскиот, заслужува најсрдечни и искрени пофалби.

Не егзистираат денес народи без духовни вредности, како што не постои напредок без националниот дух на секој одделен народ. Културата на македонскиот народ го носи отпечатокот на високото духовно ниво. Напразни се усилбите кои го откажуваат постоењето на неговиот јазик, така богат и разновитен лирично распеан во целото свое литературно и уметничко творештво, што е со искључителни вредности.

Значителниот придонес на македонскиот народ кон светската цивилизација е познат и неоспорен, одделно за словенските народи во минатото, а уште повеќе е позната неговата реална вредност за натамошната преобразба на човештвото.

Македонците ја имаа можноста да го покажат на културниот свет својот творечки гениј и покрај тоа што беа пет векови под турско ропство, како и долго време под другите ропства, кои не успееја да го уништат македонското национално чуство.

Напразни беа усилбите да се потисне самостојниот дух на Македонците кон слобода, гордост и преданост кон татковината. Македонија се зачувала низ своите страданија. Затоа македонскиот народ е жеден за знаења и во тој полет кон пошироки духовни хоризонти со јасен поглед ги преодолева пречките и не жали никаков труд за да се издигне кон посветла иднина.

Ослободен од ропството, само во еден свој дел, македонскиот народ се упати одново по патот на својот културен подем, длабоко убеден дека сам со својата духовна моќ ќе може да се обезбеди уште поголема и појасна национална физиономија. И навистина, изненадувачко е она што е постигнато на културното и економско поле за овие 25 години од војната па наваму. Македонскиот народ ќе продолжи да го дава својот придонес со духовните си сили за напредокот на човештвото, со надеж дека тој самиот ќе пројави натамошно национално и етничко единство.

Многубројните, долги и упорни обиди што и денес се пројавуваат за изопачување на македонската историја со така банални фалсификати, што можат да ги измамат само незналиците и кои потхладуваат еден слеп шовинизам, тие што ги прават како да не сакаат воопшто да ја видат реалноста. На македонскиот народ му се одрекнува правато да има сопствена историја, дури сопствено име и јазик, што е своевидна бесмислица во современата европска историја, зошто токму тој народ е дел на таа историја.

Делата на жртвувањето и на мачеништвото на Македонците, што преставува прекрасен хероизам, ќе останат низ вековите одбележани со златни букви и никоја сила во светот неможе да го избрише споменот за македонските идеали, кои биле и се првостепена сила на националната борба.

Денес Македонија може да им покаже со гордост на сите приврзаници на вистината многу сигурни докази за тоа, што еден народ може да постигне преку постојаното и трпливо дело на своите вредни синови, желни својата земја да ја издигнат од вековната заостанатост. Таа висока цел може и треба да се постигне со целосното духовно обединување на сите Македонци, било каде тие да се наоѓаат, зошто обединетиот национален дух ќе овозможи Македонија да го најде вистинското место во иднината на Европа и на светот.

На долго и на широко сум ја прокрстарил живописната земја и се восхитувам со вистинското задоволство на нејзините убавини и на лиѓето, вслужувајќи се во стремежите на овој мудар и херојски народ и насекаде можев да ја забележам гранитната моќност на неговата непоколеблива воља, на вдахоновениот устрем на неговиот гениј, на народносното сознание, што е залога на неговата светла иднина.

Македонија сака да живее, таа ќе живее преку успесите на борците и преку верата на својот светол боречки дух, кој тае во своето срце и има еден стремеж да живее слободно и независна за да се нареди во општеството на културните народи, и ако е мала, да спомогне во изградувањето на социјалната хармонија на светот.

Polenakovich - educational and scientific life - Republic of Macedonia When it was suggested to me by your revered president Mr. Kondov, that I speak to you about some issue regarding life in the Republic of Macedonia, I thought that, above all, surely you must be interested in the progress of a people and a country and that would be the issue of education and science in the Republic of Macedonia. As an educational scholar I am best informed on this issue and am ready and willing to share this information with you.

Dear compatriots and fellow Macedonians from all parts of Macedonia, you should be proud of being the sons and daughters of this nation, of the Macedonian nation from whose bosom sprouted the oldest Slavic alphabet, the oldest Slavic literacy, the first literary Slavic language, which have long served most of the Slavic peoples in their education and worship. You should be proud of being the sons and daughters of a nation that has produced such giants of the pen as the bright-faced brothers St. Clement and St.

Naum, the Bishop Constantine Bregalnichki, a notable defender of the Slavic alphabet and education, Tsrnorizets Hrabar and thousands of other worthy contributors to the education of the Slavic people. You should be proud of being the descendents of people such as St. Clement of Ohrid, the man who created the Ohrid Literary School and the first Slavic university. He was the first and original Macedonian Slavic writer, orator, poet and teacher. You all should also be familiar with the fact that 3,500 students were educated by Clement, who then became teachers and priests with whom Macedonia took first place in educating the Slavic speaking people in the Balkans and beyond at the end of the IX century and the beginning of the X century.

Using the Macedonian language from Solun Region, as the first literary language of all the Slavs, the holy brothers Kiril and Metodi, from Solun, laid the foundations of the epochal work: the creation of Slavic literacy and worship which, after the Moravian mission failed, became widely used in the Balkans and, above all, in Macedonia where St. Clement of Ohrid and his associates preached to the Slavic speaking people.

The old education flourished in Macedonia over the course of the centuries after St.

Clement of Ohrid’s death, mainly through the monasteries which were the main focus of education. Since St. Clement and St. Naum’s time many monasteries were established in Macedonia, spanning from those in Ohrid and Prespa all the way to Sveta Gora (Mount Athos) on the shores of the Aegean Sea. The teaching in monastery schools was mainly geared to preparing clerical staff but once in a while one of those teachers or students showed extraordinary literary talents and with the passing of time more monks and priests became writers and used the common folk language to appeal to the new generation and through their writing they expressed their experiences, often confessing things from their own personal life; the joys and sufferings, successes and failures and other things encountered in life.

From the many centuries that separate us from St. Clement of Ohrid, we can point out some unknown, anonymous chroniclers of important events in the life of the Macedonian people, who wrote about a certain year, a certain day, about some village or town, about what happened here and there, about the ravages of disease, about the plague, about cholera, about who ruled during times of hunger and unbearable oppression, about a star with a tail, about earthquakes and floods, etc...

Several priests, monks and teachers in the last century dared to exhibit anonymity and despite their noble work teaching and writing they also busied themselves printing their works.

The first two decades of the XIX century gave us the first teachers and writers, who published several works in pure vernacular. They were the monk teachers Ioakim Krchovski from Kriva Palanka Region and Kiril Tetoets Peichinovich from the village Teartse near Tetovo. Teacher and writer Ioakim Krchovski published five books in the vernacular. They mostly related to his teaching and clerical work but there was also a lot of information on the lives of the Macedonian people at the beginning of XIX century.

Given that there were no printing presses in Macedonia, all five of Ioakim’s books were printed in Budim. They were printed by the famous traders or “kuptsi” from Shtip, Kratovo, Kriva Palanka and other places in Macedonia. Ioakim’s works were well utilized by the population and were even copied.

Like Ioakim Krchovski, Kiril Tetoets Peichinovich published two books but some of his other works remained in handwritten manuscripts. In his works, Peichinovich portrayed life as it was in rural Skopje and Tetovo in the beginning of the past (19th)

century. His writing was comprehensible, easy to understand and beautifully composed in every way possible close to the understanding of the people. In educational and cultural terms, Peichinovich’s works have left strong traces in the ascent of our people.

Peichinovich called his works “Ogledalo” (Mirror) printed in Budin in 1816 and “Utieshenie grieshnim” printed in Solun in 1840. With regards to his second publication, we would like to take the opportunity to say something about the Doiran born publisher, Theodosia Sinaitski who was also a teacher and writer, as well as the first publisher to establish a printing house in Macedonia, in Solun, in 1837/8 which worked up until 1841/2, being burned several times in between.

All in all Sinaitski’s printing house printed 5 books, all written in various Macedonian dialects. After one of the fires, writer Kiril Peichinovich became interested in rebuilding the printing house for which he donated a lot of money. At the same time he left one of his manuscripts, the “Utieshenie grieshnim”, with Sinaitski which, as we noted earlier, was printed in Solun in 1840. In the preface of the book Sinaitski wrote about the history of the printing house and the works it had printed as well as highlighted Peichinovich’s share in its reconstruction, stressing the importance of Peichinovich’s book. In fact about Peichinovich’s book, Sinaitski, with excitement, wrote to his readers: “Here is a key that will open your hearts, not a key made of gold or of silver but a key made of steel, which will not bend because gold and silver are soft and bend easily...” The vernacular for Sinaitski was made of iron and steel, as he referred to it, and was the key that would open the hearts of “simple people” while in the Slavonic and Russian languages the keys were made of gold and silver, soft metals that could not open the hearts of the Macedonian people. The steel key was found inside Peichinovich’s work written in the people’s dialectal language that every Macedonian should read even today.

Later more printing houses opened in Solun. Most important for its work was Konstantin Drzhilovich’s printing house. Konstantin was from the village Drzhilovo.

This particular printing house printed books in the Macedonian language but with Greek letters, using the Greek alphabet. This printing house began operating in 1851.

Included in the list of teachers and writers are also the well-known Macedonian revivalists who distanced themselves from the monastery schools and began to teach in secular schools. Many of them did their studying outside of Macedonia.

Many Macedonian schools teaching in the vernacular were opened during the XIX century in Macedonia and so were many Greek language schools. Later in the second half of the XIX century, Serbian and Bulgarian propaganda began to be disseminated with the introduction of works written by Bulgarian and Serbian authors. Then, with the arrival of teachers from Serbia and Bulgaria, Bulgarian and Serbian schools were established in Macedonia.

Most famous are our revivalist teachers who fought for the Macedonian people’s liberation. Some of them belonged to the Greek cultural yoke and to the Phanar bishops of the Macedonian Church. Included among them was Iordan Hadzi Konstantinov Dzhino from Veles, a fighter, a teacher and a writer of lyrics, school texts, travelogues, plays, language and literature papers and a collector of folk wisdom. All throughout his life Hadzi Konstantinov fought for building schools in Veles, Skopje, Prilep, Tetovo, etc.

He left us rich descriptions of Macedonia and a significant amount of literary and cultural information about the Macedonian people. He told many stories about our suffering under the double yoke. Hadzi Konstantinov was one of the first Macedonian teachers to open a vernacular school.

The brothers Miladinovtsi, the most famous Macedonian revivalists, fell victim to the Ottomans for the sake of their people and were sent to prison in Constantinople in early

1862. Both were initially teaching in the Greek language in various cities in Macedonia including Ohrid, Struga and Bitola and in various villages such as Magarevo, Trnovo, Kukush and others. During the national awakening, which began to take place after the Crimean War and the Paris Peace Agreement, in 1856, Dimitria Miladinov went to Prilep where he introduced the Macedonian vernacular in the schools. He began collecting folk songs, stories, old sayings, with aims at wakening the Macedonian people’s consciousness. Besides his work in Prilep, Dimitria Miladinov also laid the foundation of similar schools in Kukush where, for several years, he collaborated with Nako Stanishev and Atanas Kushovalia, the great ones from Kukush. There he also translated the Gospel to Macedonian and introduced the Macedonian language in liturgy.

His brother Konstantine Miladinov, who had finished university in Athens in 1856, went to Moscow to study languages so that when he returned he could teach in the vernacular. While in Russia, Konstantine Miladinov began to compose poetic verses and eventually emerged as the first true Macedonian poet. Included among the famous poems he composed were “T ga za jug”, “Sirache” and “Golapche”. With help from Bishop Josip Juraj Shtrosmayer, in Zagreb in 1861, Konstantine Miladinov introduced a comprehensive collection of Macedonian folk songs called the Miladinovtsi collection...

Upon returning to his homeland, Konstantine went through Constantinople to get his brother Dimitria out of prison. Unfortunately his plan did not work and he too ended up in prison. Persecuted by the Ottoman government and by the Phanariots, both brothers died in prison...

One of the Miladinov students and son-in-law was Kuzman A. Shapkarev from Ohrid who, for a long time, as a teacher worked all throughout Macedonia and became in touch with the wishes of the Macedonian people. Shapkarev wrote and published several books in the Macedonian language and by doing so wanted to push foreign textbooks out of Macedonia. He was also known for his valuable collection of folk wisdom.

Also included among our teachers and educators that I mentioned earlier was Raiko Zinzifov, who for a short time was a teacher in Prilep and Kukush and after that, in 1858, left for Russia to further his education. There he wrote poems and articles to inform the Russian public about the difficult situation in Macedonia. He died in Moscow. Zinzifov was one of our most fertile poets and writers.

Another Macedonian writer and teacher was Grigor S. Prlichev from Ohrid, who taught during his entire life, first as a Greek teacher and then as a Macedonian folk teacher who traveled all throughout Macedonia and taught in Ohrid, Struga, Bitola, Prilep, Solun and other Macedonian cities. Prlichev was educated in classical Greek and was familiar with the works of Homer and other writers of his time. This talented Macedonian poet of the XIX century acquired his fame in the field of poetry in 1860 during a poetry competition in Athens where he was awarded first prize, which gained him the epithet “second Homer” for his works entitled “O Armatolos” (The Sirdar). He was a Greek teacher for many years but after he was “partially reborn” he became one of the most militant Macedonian teachers who worked strictly for the Macedonian people.

Beniamin Machukovski was born in the village Machukovo, Gevgelia Region. After he finished his schooling in spiritual studies at the Historical and Philological Faculty in Russia, he became a teacher and taught first in Solun and later in Constantinople. In 1872 Machukovski (1847-1878), in one of his reports, wrote the words “Bulgarian grammar of the Macedonian dialect”. In his explanation as to why he said that about the grammar he wrote: “Learning about Bulgarian grammar in Macedonian schools is one of the most laborious subjects for students, a topic learned without explanation. It takes students a long time to learn, but that again is not always a result of not understanding the grammar.

The lack of understanding the grammar is a result of nonconformity in the grammatical forms in the current published Bulgarian grammar compared to the Macedonian dialects... I have already ordered the first honour of our grammar and by the success the students have shown in their studies in this subject, according to my notes, I am fully convinced that I will achieve my goals.” Later on in his explanation Machukovski begged the teachers in Macedonia: “To make every effort to disseminate his (the Macedonian)

grammar.” The report was written in Kukush on August 16, 1872 (Blazhe Koneski, “About the Macedonian revival”. Macedonian textbooks from the 19th century, Skopje, 1959, 84-85.) “Machukovski’s statement is perhaps the brightest example of how difficult it is for Macedonians to reconcile and get used to the Bulgarian literary language”, wrote Blaze Koneski on page 85. Unfortunately Machukovski’s grammar never made it to the Bulgarian printing press. There were strong voices calling against publishing the Macedonian grammar (“V pravo” October 30, 1872).

Other teachers among the Macedonian revivalists who worked at the schools in Solun were Konstantine Dinkata Drzhilovets, born in the village Drzhilovo, his daughter Slavka and his son Giorgi Dinkata Drzhilovets, who taught in various places in Macedonia including Prilep, Bitola and the village Zagoricheni, and who was also a poet, a man of science and an advocate for a Balkan federation.

And as such I can go on talking about the 19th century teachers and schools in Macedonia up to Macedonia’s tragic division into three parts after the Balkan Wars and the First World War, when in all three parts of Macedonia the use of the Macedonian language in schools, administration, publishing and literature was banned.

It was not until the end of World War II that the Macedonian language was revived and became a language of education, science, administration, publishing and literature, in other words it became the language of the Macedonian nation in that part of Macedonia, which today constitutes the Republic of Macedonia.

Education and Science in the Republic of Macedonia Use of the Macedonian national language in schools, publishing and literature began to unfold in Macedonia during the people’s liberation struggle in World War II when national schools were established in the free territories and various newsletters and collections of materials were printed in the Macedonian language.

After the Macedonian state was established, necessary legislation was passed to introduce the Macedonian language in all public offices and schools and to prepare the Macedonian orthography and the first Macedonian primer. “Macedonian schooling began its development with a poorly developed material base, no professional staff, but with great enthusiasm and desire to develop an extensive system of education. A wide foundation was placed in primary education which held the entire educational system”, wrote Tomislav Chokrevski the Republic’s Secretary of Education, Science and Culture (Macedonia at the crossroad of its future, Skopje, 199)

This is how primary schools looked.

Before the Second World War, in the territory of today’s Republic of Macedonia (we have no information regarding the other parts of Macedonia) there were 850 primary, secondary and high schools with 95,000 students and 1,500 teachers. Classes were conducted in the Serbo-Croatian language.

During the 1945/46 school year there were 1,106 primary, secondary and high schools with 113,000 students and 2,200 teaching staff.

The present situation is as follows: 1,400 primary schools with over 250,000 students and 9,600 teaching staff.

The primary schools cover 90% of the students.

There was a modest number of secondary schools before the Second World War.

In 1945/46 there were 69 schools with 19,000 students and 700 teachers.

Today the situation is as follows: 152 schools with 51,000 students and 2,700 teachers. This means 80% of the students are now attending secondary school.

We are very proud of our high school and post-secondary education in Macedonia.

Before the war, in 1939, there was only one incomplete philosophical faculty in Skopje, which taught an average of about 150 students, most of whom were from the smaller parts of Macedonia’s territory. Today at Skopje’s “Kiril and Metodi” University we have over 17,000 students, 9 faculties and several departments which are actually separate faculties. The oldest faculty at the Skopje University is the Faculty of Philosophy, established in 1946/47. After that, year after year the number of faculties grew so that today, as I said, we have 9 faculties. Outside of the Faculty of Philosophy we have: the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, the Faculty of Medicine (with a Department for Dentistry), the Faculty of Architecture and Construction, the Faculty of Law, the Faculty of Economics, the Faculty of Electro-Mechanics and the Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy. During the elapsed time, approximately 12 thousand specialists of various profiles have graduated from the Skopje University each year and that number will soon increase by another thousand. From the small number of professors and assistants who worked at the Faculty of Philosophy, which in the first year of operation had a staff of nine professors and ten lecturers, today the University “Kiril and Metodi” employs around eight hundred professors, assistant professors, teaching assistants and other assistants. When we add all the numbers of students in the various faculties and higher education schools such as the Pedagogical Academies in Skopje, Bitola and Shtip, the Theatre Academy and Higher Music School in Skopje and about ten other senior schools, from which specialists graduate every year, the number of specialists graduating exceeds 12,000.

When we talk about the faculties at the University of Skopje we should mention that, despite some who worked in rather dilapidated buildings, the newer colleges have new buildings, modern laboratories and institutes and, as such, the Skopje University is classed among the most modern equipped universities in the Balkans. Damages caused by the devastating earthquake in 1963 have gradually healed. Just recently the foundations of three of the new faculty buildings (Philosophy, Law and Economics) have been laid by the rector of the university.

There is great desire in our students to study, particularly in young Macedonian girls.

Macedonia has the highest ratio of students (1.5%) compared to those of the USA (1.19 in 1963), Great Britain (0.64) and Germany (0.45).

Skopje University “Kiril and Metodi” is not only significant for its education of professionals; it is also a base for scientific work in our country. Most of the teachers and assistants working there, in addition to teaching, are also doing research work in science and other fields. There are also students from around the world who study and specialize at our various faculties in this university. We have also distinguished scholars and professors from renowned universities from across the world, who are guests at our university. A good number of our teacher-scholars have often been invited to be guest lecturers at a variety of universities worldwide. Some of our young scientists have also specialized at various universities in Europe and North America.

When it comes to the various schools in our country, from primary to university, I should inform you that in the past, a large number of books and teaching aids for all ages and professions have been published for the needs of our students. I have in my hand information published on the occasion of the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the publishing of the “Educational works” in Skopje. For the Macedonian primary schools we published over 700 works with a circulation of about 16 million copies. At the same time, for use by Albanian primary schools, we published 126 books with a circulation of about 1 million copies and for the use of Turkish primary schools 200 books with a somewhat smaller circulation, dependent on needs. For the middle schools we published 330 books and aids with a circulation of over 1.5 million copies and about 200 books for technical and professional schools and a large number for university studies. Outside of the “Educational works”, bilingual university textbooks were also published including ten bilingual dictionaries. I want to mention that included in the “Educational works” was the “Dictionary of the Macedonian language”, published in three books.

The development of scientific thought in Macedonia, our country, has resulted from our enlightenment which is the ultimate outcome of our schooling.

Before the Second World War we could barely count on our fingers the number of scientific endeavours that we had in Macedonia. Today we have a number of scientific institutions starting with the University of Skopje. We have a series of faculty research institutes, universities, a number of museums, archives and the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts (MANU), which has been the top scientific institution in our country emerging as the initiator and guide to the development of science.

A large number of our scientists who work at the University, besides teaching, are also dealing with scientific research. In fact most of the teachers and assistants at the University are engaged in scientific work. They work as individuals or are part of teams.

Many of the results discovered by our university professors and assistants doing scientific work in our faculties are published in various publications such as annual collections, special editions and magazines. Some of their work is also published in various scientific journals inside our country and abroad.

The accolades and recognition given to our prominent scholars in Yugoslavia and abroad was a result of the hard work and scientific activities that they carried out in Macedonia. Several of our scientists have become members of various academies of sciences and scientific undertakings in Yugoslavia and abroad including in the U.S., France and England. Some even became honorary doctors in various universities in these countries. Blazhe Koneski was elected Honorary Member of the University of Chicago.

All these acknowledgments of scientists and scholars from Macedonia represent the recognition and affirmation of Macedonian science worldwide.

Scientific research in Macedonia is also conducted by various other institutes outside of the “Kiril and Metodi” University in Skopje. Today there are 23 independent research institutes in Macedonia which employ 900 workers in the field of science. Many of these are located in Skopje but there are some located in the interior of our republic, including in Bitola, Prilep, Ohrid and Strumitsa.

Among the institutes that exist in Macedonia, I would like to particularly highlight the Hydro-biological Institute in Ohrid dedicated to studying the life in Lake Ohrid and to increasing the lake’s fish stocks. A dozen or so eminent scientists, some of whom are full professors at the university and renowned scientists, have grown out of the wing of this Hydro-biological Institute.

Another important institute in Macedonia is the Tobacco Institute in Prilep, dedicated to providing scientific research for the improvement of tobacco production.

Another institute worthy of mention is the Cotton Institute in Strumitsa, dedicated to the study and improvement of the production of cotton.

I would also like to say a few words about the institutes in Skopje, which play a significant role in the study of the Macedonian people’s history, language and folklore.

First among them is the “Krste Misirkov” Macedonian Language Institute which recently celebrated its move to a new building, built with help from our emigrants living abroad.

About 50 academics and linguists work in this institute and are involved in the study of the Macedonian language. The Institute publishes its own editions of which the most important is the magazine “Macedonian language”. The magazine has been in existence for 19 years and has greatly contributed to the exposure of the Macedonian language and its dialects not only to Macedonians but also to Slavists around the world, especially to those in the United States, Poland, Germany, Finland and other countries.

The Institute of National History also plays a significant role in the affirmation of our national science. With its many academics, among whom are more than a dozen PhD’s of history, the Institute is noted for its numerous and solid publications. One particular publication I want to mention is the Herald, the Institute’s voice which has been in existence for more than 12 years. The Herald has published an appreciable number of stories from Macedonia’s history contributed by Macedonian and foreign academics.

Conferences that review various topics and discuss issues such as the role of ASNOM, the Ilinden Uprising, etc., are often organized by this Institute. The Institute’s latest project was the publication of three books on the history of the Macedonian people, presented in Moscow at the International Congress of Historians, held in August.

Useful scientific work is also done by the Institute of Folklore. In terms of numbers of staff, this institute is comparatively small but very important to the collection of folk wisdom, folk music etc. It is an important institution because of the work it is doing to affirm Macedonian folklore. Up to date the Institute has published many books, most of which are about folk wisdom. Currently the Institute is in the process of publishing Marko Tsepenkov’s collection of folk wisdom consisting of ten books. Tsepenkov was one of the most prolific collectors of Macedonian folk wisdom. The Institute of Folklore also publishes a magazine called “Macedonian Folklore”, to which a number of foreign folklorists contribute.

Besides the independent institutes that operate in Skopje, there are also about 40 institutes that work under the guidance of various faculties.

In addition to the many institutes that exist in our republic, there is also scientific work done by the various museums, archives and other institutions which, in addition to preserving the materials that fall under their jurisdiction, also publish results from their own jobs.

I will finish talking about the exposure to scientific work done in Macedonia by giving you some information about the establishment and work done by Macedonia’s highest scientific institution, the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts (MANU).

The Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts was established on February 23, 1967, with the passing of a law by the Macedonian Parliament. The first elections to elect members in the Academy were held in Ohrid in August of the same year at the old centre for Slavic and Macedonian education and culture, in Kliment of Ohrid and Grigor Prlichev’s city, also the city of many other prominent Macedonian people.

The establishment of the Macedonian Academy was welcomed by the collaboration of a number of academies of science around the world including those of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Venezuela, Germany, Israel, Ireland, Italy, Canada, Lebanon, Portugal, Romania, Syria, the United States, the USSR, France, the Netherlands, Czechoslovakia and Spain.

In the short time of its establishment, the Macedonian Academy of Arts and Sciences managed to collect a significant number of contributors, in addition to its regular members. It also initiated a lively number of scientific activities including a string of publications, two major conferences, including the one held last year dedicated to the 1,100 anniversary of the death of Kiril Solunski, attended by scientists from the United States. Now it is finishing the reports from this meeting which will be published in two books. Early next year the Academy will publish 5 books on the history of the Macedonian language and literature and will generally portray the Macedonian people from their arrival in the Balkans to today. The books will be printed in the Macedonian language as well as in some foreign languages, including English.

In the course of this year and in the future the Academy will issue two of the oldest testaments of Macedonian literacy from the X and XI century.

In the last three years the Macedonian Academy was visited by an array of scientists from all around the world. A number of our academics have also visited many countries worldwide, including the three members who visited the United States.

One of MANU’s important plans was the construction of the Academy’s new building. Its previous works in which the institute was engaged has been completed and sometime in the spring next year it will lay the foundation of an even higher temple of science in our country.

Dear fellow countrymen, with the information I gave you I want to familiarize you with what a nation can achieve in the fields of education and science when it is free.

We can be proud of the results because only 20 years have passed since the time the first Macedonian Prime Minister announced the establishment of the University and the Macedonian Academy. Other people have taken a lot longer to achieve similar results.

Thank you very much for your attention.

Academic Dr. Haralampie Polenakovich Поленаковиќ - Просветниот и научниот живот во Република Македонија Кога ми беше предложено од страна на вашиот уважуван претседател Господинот Кондов, пред вас да зборувам за некое прашање од животот во Република Македонија, помислив пред се, дека вас секако ќе ве интересира она што претставува основа на напредокот на секој еден народ и на една држава, а тоа е прашањето за Просветата и науката во Република Македонија. Како просветен и научен работник јас сум и најдобро информиран за ова прашање и спремен сум да ви дадам и други податоци, освен овие што во мојот збор ќе ги изнесам.

Вие, драги сонародници и сонароднички, Македонци и Македонки од сите краишта на Македонија, можете да се гордеете оти сте синови на оној народ, на македонскиот народ, од пазувите на кој никна најстарата словенска азбука, најстарата словенска писменост, првиот словенски книжевен јазик, со кој повеќето од словенските народи долго време се служеле во просветата и богослужбата, давајќи такви великани на перото како што беа светлите ликови на браќата св.

Климент и св. Наум Охридски, епископот Константин Брегалнички, знаменитиот бранител на словенската азбука и просвета Црноризец Храбар и илјадници други вредни работници на полето на словенската просвета, кога таа ги разгрна своите сили во Охридската книжевна школа, тој прв словенски универзитет, чиј раководител бил првиот оригинален македонски и словенски писател, говорник, поет, учител и светител, Климент Охридски. Вам ви е познато дека низ рацете на Климент Охридски минале околу 3500 ученици, кои станале учители и свештеници, со кои Македонија го зазела при крајот на IX век и во почетокот на X век првото место во словенската просвета на Балканот и воопшто.

Користејќи се со македонскиот јазик од Солунско како прв книжевен јазик за сите Словени, светите браќа од Солун, Кирил и Методија ги удрија темелите на епохалното дело: создавањето на словенската просвета и богослужба, која –откако пропадна Моравската мисија-широко се разви на Балканот, и пред се, во Македонија, каде, меѓу словенското население, проповедаше св. Климент Охридски со своите соработници.

Старата просвета во нашата земја се развијала во текот на вековите, по смрта на св. Климент Охридски, главно преку манастирите, кои биле главни жаришта на просветата. Во нашата земја уште од времето на Климент и Наум Охридски, се основаа низа манастири, од тие на Охридското и Преспанското Езеро па се до бреговите на Егеј и до Атос, св. Гора. Наставата во манастирските училишта била таква, што таа главно приготвувала свештенички кадар. Меѓутоа меѓу тие свештеници-учители, повремено избликнувале и книжевни таленти, така што, особено до колку се ближиме кон нашето време, се повеќе калуѓерите и свештениците-учители се јавуваат и како писатели, кои го користат народниот збор, за да му соопштат на новото поколение она што го забележиле во своето време, за да ги кажат вистините за народниот живот, често за да се исповедат за личниот живот, за радостите и маките, среќите и несреќите што ги следеле во животот.