The beginning of the new school year brings new teaching blocks, strikes, dismissals of teachers and changes of principals. In the Fifth Belgrade High School, the conflict between students and teachers grew into a symbol of a wider problem
More than a month has passed since the beginning new school year, but it is still turbulent in some schools.
So the students gymnasium in Pancevo from Monday (October 6) in a one-week blockade of classes, teachers at the Belgrade Elementary School "Pavle Savić" are on legal strike, au Fifth Belgrade Gymnasium the students of one class welcomed the new math teacher with a sandwich and "Informer", since he declared himself a progressive.
What these schools have in common is that they got new acting principals and teachers.
About 200 teachers welcomed the beginning of the new school year with dismissals, and more than 70 were replaced director.
All this was the response of the Ministry of Education to the support of students, suspension of classes and blockades during the second semester of the last school year.
The previous school year gave birth in some schools to the fact that children became aware of getting involved when they bumped into injustice.
This is exactly what the students of II/11 of the Fifth Belgrade Gymnasium did, who were left without their old classmate because her contract was not extended. They welcomed the mathematics teacher in mid-September with an illustration of 50 euros, the daily newspaper "Informer" and a sandwich for the chair.
He previously expressed his political position in front of the class, says that the old classmate got what she asked for and got into a conflict with the whole class, according to the parents of the students of this class.
According to "Vreme", the mother of one of the students in this class, Dragana Stanišić, was reprimanded, threatened with social services and prosecution.
"I'm not saying that what the children did was right, there was probably another way to deal with the professor, but it was an act of their revolt and I don't think that what they did represents an injury to the reputation and honor of the school. They simply reacted to the professor who was brought in to replace their teacher who was an expert mathematician and set himself up, clearly expressed his political position, insulted their old classmate and the children resisted in a very humorous way."
During the headmaster's class, the children were later interviewed in the presence of the assistant principal, the school pedagogue and a psychologist, and Stanišić notes that the acting principal also brought new people to these positions.
The children, he added, were threatened with disciplinary procedures for violating the professor's reputation and honor.
"They were clearly told that it was the 'third level of violence', i.e. that an external network was involved and that the children would have to bear the consequences. The parents immediately reacted and reported the intimidation of the students via the 'Cuvam te' platform. After that, we received an order from the head of the department to deliver a statement to the acting headmistress by email within 24 hours, since we are not allowed to enter the school and we have neither open doors nor any contact with the classroom, except by email."
V. d. According to the interlocutor of "Vremena", the principal called the class several times to talk and demanded punishment for the children.
The parents turned to the Republic Inspection, the Ministry of Education, the school administration and the Protector of Citizens asking for information about the competences of the mathematics professor. They have not received the answers yet. They also sought information of public importance on the competencies of new professors.
The children were verbally pressured to apologize to the math teacher, which they refused, and then their grades were reduced in their maths.
Two students were threatened that they will be kicked out of the student dormitory where they live since they are not from Belgrade.
One of them is the son of Dragana Stanišić.
"It was a direct threat and we reacted again and wrote to all institutions and to the 'Cuvam te' platform."
In the meantime, nothing has changed, so they repeated the requests to the institutions.
Most professors changed
In class II/11, all professors were changed, except for the Latin, history and French teachers. The old computer science teacher remained part of the class.
"They have almost completely replaced their professors, some have worked in Peta before, some have come from the side and are mostly fair and correct towards the children. They hold classes the way it should be done and the children have no problem with any of them, which clearly shows that the key to the problem here is the teacher, and no one wants to solve that problem," says Stanišić, noting that the children of II/11 are extremely gifted, and that one of the students of this class won a bronze medal for Serbia at the International Junior Geography Olympiad.
The parents and students of this class were joined by students from other classes, as well as their parents.
Dragana Stanišić is employed as a biology teacher in an elementary school and for months she was on suspension of classes and at protests.
"As a parent and also a teacher who was on the street for months, it's terrible that someone is asking my child to apologize to such a teacher against whom I fought for months. And on top of all that, someone is threatening to expel him from the student dormitory for something that makes absolutely no sense," says Stanišić.
The children, he adds, cope well with all the pressures.
He hopes that the situation they are currently in will perhaps show that unity wins and that the headmistress will understand that she has to organize a Parents' Council, that she has to allow a school board to exist in the school and for parents to ask questions.
"To open the doors of the school, that in the teaching process there must be a connection between students, parents and teachers. This is something that we want above all - for the school to work within the legal framework, for it to be a truly educational educational institution, for the staff who teach our children to be taken care of and for us to be involved in the teaching process."
Nevena Vučković Šahović from the Center for Children's Rights tells "Vreme" that the actions of the school administration are senseless and unnecessary.
"They are not able to provide the quality of teaching that is common in secondary schools, it seems that they do not have the staff. Since they fired all those teachers, they bring in people who seem to be insufficiently competent to the point that even the children notice. And then when they highlight some of their demands, they address them as blockers," says Vučković Šahović.
According to her, the conflict that currently exists in the Fifth Belgrade High School is unacceptable.
"I don't think it will be solved by permanently punishing one side in the conflict, but that it should have been solved in some other way, to see what the problem was, what didn't go right, why all those teachers were fired."
Many people saw the suspension of classes and protests in the second semester of the last school year as a good opportunity for synergy within schools.
Vuckovic Sahovic she previously spoke for "Vreme" that the activities that took place in the schools at that time were good and that they achieved "the synergy of the quadrilateral teacher-child-parent-community and the children learn what is proclaimed in our law as the goal of education, which is the training of the child in civil society, for the development of his personality that will be independent, make independent and mature decisions by actively participating in the work of the school from the youngest days".
He repeats now that the main goals of education are the development of the child in a democratic society, and for the non-violent resolution of conflicts.
"On the example of the Fifth Belgrade High School, we see the ugly way in which it is conducted and shows great incompetence and the inability to resolve any conflict in a normal way and to establish cooperation in the triangle of parent, teacher and student. Without that cooperation, there is no progress. And that is exactly what this whole story seemed to give birth to last year. They do not want such cooperation now."
He comments on the latest events in Peta as an attempt to break the will and resistance of students and parents.
The new school year in many Belgrade schools started with big problems, but in the Fifth Belgrade High School they feel particularly strong. Nineteen teachers were fired just before the start of the school year, and those who remained in their jobs claim that they face daily pressures.
How is it previously explained for "Vreme". one teacher is employed in this school, the staff suffers from various pressures, and a particular problem is the lack of teachers for key subjects, such as mathematics.
"Young people, capable pedagogues, experts in their fields, were fired, and people with dubious professional pasts were brought in, without adequate competences and experience in working with students. Disciplinary proceedings were previously conducted against some of them due to national discrimination of students. One of the colleagues does not even have the necessary qualifications," said the "Vremena" interviewee at the time.
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