And the third day of the second half of the year is going on in some schools in Serbia without classes. While teachers are looking for fulfillment student demands and they consider every day whether they will hold classes the next day and because of that they receive threats of dismissal, the principals of some schools submit them.
Some of them cite family and private reasons as the reason for their dismissal, while others clearly state that they decided to take such a step because they want to protect themselves from the strike of their colleagues.
Among them is Zoran Pantović, the principal of the primary school in Pranjani, a town near Gornji Milanovac.
Disappointed by the actions of his colleagues who went on a complete work stoppage, he decided to step down from the director's chair.
"I'm going back to the village school in Bogdanica, and I don't want to lead the collective and the school for which I gave my best." "I cannot understand and understand teachers who announce on Friday that the school is working normally, and then in the evening they change their minds and most of them say they are not working," he told RINA agency Pantović.
He says that everyone has the right to do what they want, but that he does not agree with that and claims that teachers have never had better working conditions.
Cancellation of the baptismal service
The day before, on Monday, January 20, the director of Šabac High School, Marijana Isaković, decided to take the same step.
She addressed a message to the employees, informing them of the decision to resign from the position of director.
However, her reasons are of a different nature, she claims.
"I am informing you that today, on the day of my baptism, January 20, I am resigning from the post of director of the Šabac grammar school for family reasons," Isaković said.
She thanked everyone for their cooperation and collegiality, "and even those who forwarded emails from our correspondence to portals and students with malicious and incorrect interpretations."
"Thank you for your collegiality and support." It was an honor to lead the Šabac grammar school. I am proud of the successes we achieved together. I am looking forward to returning to the classroom so that I can enjoy the vocation that I love immensely until retirement," Isaković added.
On Tuesday (January 21), the graduates of the Šabac grammar school voted by a majority of votes at the plenum to continue the blockade of the school.
Vacant seat in Fifth too
The director of the Fifth Belgrade High School, Borka Popović, also resigned from that position on the same day, the media reported.
The correspondence of the principal and employees of that high school was previously published on social networks.
"If classes are suspended despite the signed agreement with the Ministry of Education, I mean illegal, expect disciplinary procedures." Then tell me where to start. The loudest are probably the bravest. I'm not forcing you to do anything, you're of age, I'm doing my job and I'm pointing out the circumstances," said Borka Popović in the correspondence.
First layoffs in the fall
In September 2024, educators throughout Serbia first started warning strikes and occasional suspension of classes that lasted until the end of the first semester.
The principals of certain schools resigned even then.
That's how it was in Prokuplje.
The director of the elementary school "Nikodije Stojanović Tatko" Ljubomir Vukićević resigned, but, as he told the media at the time, the reasons for the resignation were personal and had nothing to do with pressures.
"I resigned for personal reasons. It has nothing to do with the strike of educators, nor pressures, as you say. I have been in this position for a year and a half, six months as acting. I would not like to explain why I made that decision. I will perform this job until the Ministry considers my decision on dismissal," Vukićević stated for Nova S.
The staff of that school then sent a letter to the Minister of Education Slavica Đukić Dejanović, the State Audit Institution and the Niš School Administration, in which they ask why the principals are constantly changing in this school.
Medal for Director Jovina?
Many in Serbia heard about the director of the "Jovan Jovanović Zmaj" gymnasium in Novi Sad, Radivoje Stojković, in December, when he spent seven hours kneeling in the school's courtyard, on the day when the students blocked it.
The students then demanded a public apology from the school board and the director of the gymnasium to the teachers and students. They asked the director to withdraw his apology to Prime Minister Miloš Vučević.
In the meantime, the students received a partial apology and suspended the blockade at the beginning of January. However, at the beginning of the second semester, the blockade continued, as the teachers of that school decided to go on a one-week strike.
The school principal is not among the strikers.
On Monday (January 20), he held a class for three students in the first shift, while many students stood in front of the school and shouted "Students don't kneel!".
The President of the country, Aleksandar Vučić, congratulated him for holding a class for several students and said that he deserved the award for "respecting children and their rights".
"I will think about giving him an order," said the President of Serbia.
The parents of the students of that school submitted an official request to the competent authorities for the dismissal of the director of Jovina Gymnasium.
Those who are not afraid
There is another side of the coin – school principals who stand by students and teachers.
The director of the 13th Belgrade high school, Bojan Vučković, assessed in a guest appearance on N1 television that school principals are in a very difficult situation, but that it is necessary for all educators to show that they are brave and incorruptible.
"It's really insulting that someone thinks that educators will shut up if they get a little more money." We are not that kind of world," said Vučković.
Which schools are on strike?
It is difficult to get precise data on exactly how many of the more than 1.700 primary and secondary schools do not ring the bell these days, and data from education unions and state officials vary widely.
The Ministry of Education claims that classes are held in 96 percent of schools, while different data are coming from some trade unions about the fact that there were no classes in more than half of the schools, to the point that in some cities all schools have suspended work.
The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, assessed on Tuesday evening that the school strike was unsuccessful and announced the implementation of measures against the strikers.
