Physical punishment as a method to discipline children is still being used in Macedonia. Most parents believe that punishment is necessary as a way to discipline children, show findings of the latest Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) monitoring the situation of children and women.

At national level, 52% of children were physically punished in order to be disciplined. 73% of children aged 5-9 were subjected to violent punishment, 69% of 2 to 4 year-olds and 66% of children aged 10-14.

"A low percentage of respondents believe that a child needs to be physically punished. In contrast, the percentage of parents or other adult household members who use violence as a way to discipline children is high. These figures show that parents have no knowledge or skills on positive behaviour towards their children," said UNICEF Country Representative Sheldon Yett presenting the survey on Friday.

Headway was registered in relation to early child development i.e. the number of children (36-59 months) who attend some form of early childhood education has increased by 22% compared to 10% in 2005.

These findings suggest that 98% of children in primary education want to resume their education. Also more Roma children are interested in attending classes.

"Five years ago, 60% of Roma children wanted to enroll in schools, while this figure in the last couple of years has increased by 25% and now stands at 85%. The number of students in elementary schools is constantly on the rise, suggesting that the efforts made by the government are yielding results," said Education Minister Pance Kralev.

A 1.3% decrease in early marriages has been registered  and awareness on reporting domestic violence has been raised.

"The survey shows that only 15% of women believe that a husband is justified in beating the wife/partner in specific circumstances," stated Labour Minister Spiro Ristovski.

With respect to vaccination of children, a breakthrough has been made - 91% of children have been vaccinated compared to 76% in 2005.

The survey in Macedonia was conducted on a representative sample of 4.018 households at national level and 951 Roma households.

The Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) is an international household survey programme developed by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). MICS provides up-to-date information on  the situation of children and women and measures key indicators that allow countries to monitor progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and other internationally agreed upon commitments.