MINISTRY OF EDUCATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA Nemanjina 22-26, Belgrade
The undersigned parents of the VII/2 class of the "Vladislav Ribnikar" Elementary School are submitting a letter with requests directly to the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Serbia.
Dear customer,
We, the undersigned parents of the VII/2 class of the "Vladislav Ribnikar" Elementary School, on May 8, 2023, wrote to the Management of the "Vladislav Ribnikar" Primary School, with the request that we receive a written response within seven days to the important and necessary questions, in order to overcome the terrible situation that arose due to the massacre that was committed against the students of our class on May 3, so that it would never happen again, as well as to avoid, if it is determined that there were, they will be removed for the future, and those responsible will be adequately sanctioned. 4
Bearing in mind that we did not receive a response to the first letter from the official institutions, which were precisely responsible for solving the set requests, with this letter we are addressing the Ministry of Education for the second time, in the hope that concrete actions will finally be taken according to the set requests, as and that we, the parents, will be informed immediately, accurately and in a timely manner about the actions taken by the competent authorities according to the set requests.
Also, we asked, through those seven requests and questions, to be given explanations and answers and to enable elementary rights to information, that is, to fulfill certain requests, all with the aim of mitigating the consequences that are inevitable and permanent.
Of the mentioned questions and requests, those related to the engagement of external psychologists and psychiatrists were practically fulfilled, but still without a clear written work program. We were offered short biographies by the experts who perform this part of the task, for which we especially thank them. The request to end cooperation with Dr. Ranka Radulović was also fulfilled. In connection with the eventual continuation of the school year of the surviving students of our class, the request to ensure entry into the school on the so-called small entrance, and the group psychotherapy of the students is conducted in the school library, and not in one of the offices where the students previously had classes.
However, although we received assurances through the media, even from the Prime Minister and the President of the Republic of Serbia, that all our requests were rational and accepted, and that funds in the amount of 7 million euros would allegedly be committed for the reconstruction of the school, we did not receive it by the requested deadline. not even oral answers to questions related to: the reconstruction of the tragic event and the status of the investigation regarding it; what will happen to the boy and what is the status of his parents because there is great fear that he will be at large; what and how, apart from the provision of funds, will be specifically undertaken regarding the proposed renovation of the school premises; what has been done or will be done regarding our request to determine the responsibility of the people who made public the list with the names of the children from the department, which went around the world, as well as the photos of parents and children, and that, because of such action, those responsible should be sanctioned in accordance with the law.
On this occasion, we would like to express our deepest gratitude for the support of the Council of Parents of Elementary School "Vladislav Ribnikar", who recognized the necessity of taking the required measures and obtaining the requested answers.
In addition to the above, we are forced to point out the major omissions and uncooperativeness of the school management, primarily the director Snežana Knežević, and partly also the president of the Parents' Council, Igor Đorđević, which are reflected in the following:
- Almost constant avoidance of informing the parents of class VII/2 directly, in a timely manner, and accurately what the School and competent authorities are undertaking on these and other issues, they get that information from the media;
- Avoidance of written communication with parents by the school principal, even though parents asked certain questions and suggestions in writing - by e-mail;
- Lack of a clear plan and program of work with students and parents, at least in the next two to three days, but why not on a weekly basis;
- Irresponsible public appearance in the media of the President of the Council of Parents, Igor Đorđević, without the approval of the Council of Parents and the consent of the parents of the VII/2 department.
We especially point out that we were not informed in writing by the school management that it is intended to hold a meeting between the President of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, representatives of relevant ministries and the City of Belgrade with the school management, the Council of Parents and the parents of the surviving students of class VII/2 on Sunday, May 21. , in the large hall of the School, with an approximate start at 12.00:16 p.m., about which we were verbally informed in a telephone conversation with the president of the Parents' Council on May XNUMX in the evening, on our call.
Regarding the meeting, we would like to express our disagreement with this way of working with the parents of class VII/2 for the following reasons:
- Our requests and questions from the first address to the School Administration were not answered in writing by the requested deadline, and we consider it pointless for the parents of class VII/2, who are the initiators of these initiatives, to participate in the meeting. The Minutes of the meeting of the Parents' Collegium on the evening of May 18, which were subsequently submitted, do not reflect the essence of the answers to our questions and requests;
- We are of the opinion that the specificity of the status of our department, which suffered the greatest consequences of the massacre, was not taken into account and that a special approach and attitude should be taken towards our department. In this regard, we are ready to cooperate with the competent authorities, to regularly inform the Prime Minister about the results of the work and to eventually organize a special meeting of the parents of class VII/2 with the Prime Minister, if the need arises;
- Starting from the previous paragraph, although we express our deepest gratitude to the Parents' Council of our school for their support, we are of the opinion that the work programs, as well as the attitude towards each shift, class and department in the School should be adapted to their specific needs, because it is about the different interests of students and parents, and not to consider them in such a way as to apply a one-size-fits-all solution;
- Recognizing the personal tragedy experienced by our representative in the Council of Parents and her family and her inability to participate in the work of the Collegium of the Council of Parents, as well as the fact that she could not, completely and undoubtedly justified, participate in the parent meetings of the VII/2 department from which she derives her legitimacy, it is extremely inappropriate and scandalous to make any decisions of the Collegium of the Parents' Council and the Parents' Council as a whole without the participation of the parents of class VII/2. Such utterly disgraceful and shameful behavior and insulting of child victims deserves the strongest condemnation.
From what has been said so far, we draw the following conclusions:
- That there is no sincere intention and will of the school director, and partly also of the president of the Council of Parents, to cooperate with all the parents of the VII/2 class;
- That parents are uninformed, misled and forced to get relevant information from public media;
- That for unknown reasons it is being done spontaneously and that the parents of class VII/2 have no idea what the goals and methods are for managing this crisis situation, which arose as a result of a tragic event in our school;
- That all decisions are made without our participation, even though the most terrible consequences were suffered by the students and parents of class VII/2, which is unacceptable from many aspects;
- To abuse the pain and sorrow of the tragically killed, injured and surviving students and parents of the VII/2 class in order to avoid facing personal responsibility.
In particular, we must emphasize that our children are constantly receiving threats and insults through social networks on the Internet and that we are extremely concerned because there is a real risk that children may be exposed to various forms of physical and psychological violence. The unscrupulousness of certain announcements of insults and threats where their tragically injured schoolmates are mentioned, without sympathy and sympathy for the pain and sorrow of their parents, relatives, friends and schoolmates, is shocking. In the fight against such acts, we express our strong support and readiness for full cooperation with the competent authorities.
Taking into account the stated facts, conclusions and attitudes and referring to point 8 of our previous address, we request the following from the competent institutions:
- We repeat the demands:
- that the reconstruction of the tragic event and the status of the investigation regarding it be carried out completely and to the end, and that interested parties be informed of this in accordance with the law;
- what will happen to the boy and what is the status of his parents because there is a great fear that he will be at large,
- what and how, apart from the provision of funds, will be specifically undertaken regarding the proposed renovation of the school premises;
- what has been specifically done or will be done regarding our request to determine the responsibility of the people who made public the list with the names of the children from the department, which went around the world, as well as the photos of the parents and children, and that, because of such action, those responsible should be sanctioned in accordance with the law;
- Urgent and without further delay, the suspension of the principal of "Vladislav Ribnikar" Elementary School, Snežana Knežević, until the investigation is completed and her personal responsibility for the tragic event that occurred and the subsequent treatment of the students and parents of the VI1/2 class is determined;
- Urgent and without further delay the suspension of the school psychologist Lidija Maksić until the end of the investigation and determination of her personal responsibility for the tragic event;
- Urgent and without further delay the suspension of school pedagogue Jelena Vujičić until the end of the investigation and determination of her personal responsibility for the tragic event;
- Designation of one or less group of persons by competent authorities for direct communication and coordination of activities with parents of VI1/2 classes due to their specificities;
- Creation and adoption of a special curriculum for the completion of the seventh grade and attending the eighth grade for the VII/2nd grade, including passing the junior high school graduation;
- Formation of medical records of students and parents undergoing psychotherapy, at the special request of each parent;
- In whatever way the integration of the surviving students is regulated, we, the parents and children of the VII/2 class, demand that all the surviving students of our class return intact to their composition, regardless of how many students there are and without adding students from other classes;
- Taking measures to detect, possibly prosecute and try perpetrators who send threats to children through social networks, in order to suppress and further prevent this kind of activity.
We distance ourselves from the public speaking and other activities of the President of the Council of Parents, Igor Đorđević.
We refrain from supporting further decisions of the Parents' Council due to the specificity of our problem.
We reserve the right to continue to address these and other issues of importance to the children and parents of the VII/2 class.
Read daily news, analysis, commentary and interviews at www.vreme.com
