OSCE Mission to Skopje expands school safety project

Starting in March 2012, the Police Development Department of the OSCE Mission to Skopje is helping to introduce the School Safety project in other municipalities in the country, after having successfully implemented the project in the municipality of Kumanovo.

The project in Kumanovo, which was implemented last year, resulted in an agreement by the Local Prevention Council to assign a working group with designing Strategic Safety Guidelines. These provide instructions and assistance to school directors in the design of school prevention plans and the establishment of School Safety Teams, thus promoting a model which has gradually become an integral and obligatory part of schools’ educational agendas.

The focus is now on sharing responsibilities with respect to the management of school-related risks with the students. The project also helps to bridge inter-ethnic tensions, providing students of different backgrounds the chance to socialize through extra-curricular activities.