Current Policy Framework 2025-2026

Mobility and internationalisation in education in North Macedonia are supported through national policies and participation in international cooperation programmes.

Participation in international mobility is promoted at all levels of education, including early childhood and school education, higher education and adult education and training. Opportunities for mobility are mainly provided through European programmes, particularly Erasmus+, as well as through bilateral agreements and other forms of international cooperation.

The National Agency for European Educational Programmes and Mobility is responsible for the implementation of European programmes, including Erasmus+, in accordance with national legislation.

Internationalisation also includes measures related to curriculum development, institutional cooperation and participation in international networks.

Sources: Law on the National Agency for European Educational Programmes and Mobility; Ministry of Education and Science; Erasmus+ national documentation.

Mobility in early childhood and school education 2025-2026

Mobility in early childhood and school education in North Macedonia is mainly supported through European programmes and international cooperation initiatives.

The main opportunities for mobility are provided through the Erasmus+ programme, which supports the mobility of teachers, school leaders and other education staff, as well as pupils, particularly in secondary education.

Mobility activities include participation in training courses, job shadowing, teaching assignments and school partnerships. These activities aim to improve professional competences, support student learning and promote the exchange of good practices between institutions.

Participation in mobility programmes is coordinated at national level by the National Agency for European Educational Programmes and Mobility.

Learning outcomes acquired through mobility activities may be recognised by educational institutions, depending on the type and duration of the activity. In school education, recognition is mainly based on institutional decisions and is more commonly applied in secondary education.

Participation in international mobility contributes to the development of key competences and is supported through internationally recognised programmes, such as Erasmus+.

Participation of children in early childhood education in international mobility activities is limited. However, institutions may be involved in international cooperation projects.

Sources: Law on the National Agency for European Educational Programmes and Mobility; Erasmus+ programme documentation.

Implementation and Statistical Overview 2014-2024

There are no national programmes, projects and/or initiatives enabling pupils, students or trainees to undertake part of their studies in another country. All realized projects are related with European Community action programmes in the field of education and training.

Mobility in early childhood and school education in the Republic of North Macedonia is mainly enabled within the framework of the Erasmus + programme and is realized through the variety of key actions such as: KA 101 School Education Staff Mobility, KA 102 VET Learner and Staff Mobility and KA 116 VET Learner and Staff Mobility with VET Mobility Charter.

In the Republic of North Macedonia, for the period 2014 - 2020 the total number of approved projects for KA 101 School Education Staff Mobility is 88 projects and for KA 102 VET Learner and Staff Mobility is 124 projects. For the same period the primary and secondary schools in the Republic of North Macedonia realized the pupils / student mobility as well as teacher mobility and other activities in the total value of 1.305.544 Euro for projects in KA 101 School Education Staff Mobility and 6.154.657 Euro for projects in KA 102 VET Learner and Staff Mobility. From 2017 the VET schools started to participate in the KA 116 VET Learner and Staff Mobility with VET Mobility Charter. In the period 2017-2020 the 7 VET schools were granted with VET Charters and 13 projects were funded with 930.765 Eur. The Erasmus+ VET Mobility Charter encourages VET schools to organise high-quality VET mobility for learners and staff and to build their European internationalization strategies.

Within the new Erasmus+ programme 2021-2027:

In 2021: KA1 Schools 24 projects were approved in amount of 609.977 Eur with 282 mobilities and KA1 VET 21 projects were approved in amount of 836.779 Eur with 349 mobilities. 

In 2022: KA1 Schools 21 projects were approved in amount of 512.483 Eur with 243 mobilities and KA1 VET 19 projects were approved in amount of 755.691 Eur with 316 mobilities. 

In 2023: KA1 Schools 22 projects were approved in amount of 550.554 Eur with 315 mobilities and KA1 VET 21 projects were approved in amount of 697.831 Eur with 311 mobilities. 

In 2024: KA1 Schools 27 projects were approved in amount of 689.653 Eur with 431 mobilities and KA1 VET 21 projects were approved in amount of 935.471 Eur with 365 mobilities. 

Pupil and student mobility

Within KA 102 VET Learner and Staff Mobility, the learners’ mobility is an important part and the project comprised one or more of the following activities: (1) mobility in VET providers and/or companies abroad, from 2 weeks to less than 3 months; (2) long-term mobility in VET providers and/or companies abroad (ErasmusPro), from 3 to 12 months. In the period 2014 – 2020 the total number of mobilities of VET learners is 2811, out of which 2472 mobilities are realized with approved quotas for mobility and the others 339 are paid from the organizational support. 

Activities were realized in the form of full work placements with learners hosted in a company or other relevant organisation, or at a VET provider (a school, institute or other organisation providing vocational education and training) offering a combination of school based learning and work placements. In the case of long-term mobilities (ErasmusPro), the activity had a clear work-based learning component – usually in the form of a work placement in a company.

Each mobility activity is set within a quality framework previously agreed upon by the sending and receiving organisations to ensure a high level of quality for the activity, including a "Learning Agreement". The learning outcomes are formally recognized and validated at an institutional level; course contents are adapted as necessary to ensure that the mobility period abroad is well fitted to the course in which the apprentice/VET learner is enrolled.

Within the projects in KA 116 VET Learner and Staff Mobility with VET Mobility Charter, the total number of 327 students’ mobility was realized in the period 2017-2020.

Teacher mobility

Within КА101 Mobility School Education Staff, one or more of the following activities are related to the staff mobility: (1) teaching assignments: this activity allows teachers or other school education staff to teach at a partner school abroad; (2) structured courses or training events abroad: support the professional development of teachers, school leaders or other educational staff; (3) job shadowing: provides an opportunity for teachers, school leaders or other school staff to spend a period abroad in a partner school or another relevant organisation active in the field of school education. In the period 2014 – 2020 the total number of mobilities in of school education staff within KA 101 was 584.

Within КА102 VET Learner and Staff Mobility, one or more of the following activities are related to the staff mobility: (1) teaching/training assignments: this activity allows staff of VET providers to teach at a partner VET provider abroad. It also allows staff of companies to provide training at VET provider abroad (2) staff training: this activity supports the professional development of VET staff in the form of a work placement or a job shadowing/observation period abroad in a company or any other VET provider. The total number of 300 VET staff mobilities were realized within KA 102 in the period from 2014-2020.

Within the projects in KA 116 VET Learner and Staff Mobility with VET Mobility Charter the total number of 78 teachers’ mobility were realized in the period 2017-2020.