Several hundred people gathered in front of the building of the Ministry of Education, and they were led by students and teachers of secondary schools. They joined the group students.
After 15 minutes of silence, high school teachers spoke.
Sanja Štrbac, a teacher at the Zemun grammar school, stated that the male and female educators revolted in order to warn the ministry to stop making threats.
"Not only to us, but also to children, students, to anyone who thinks and asks for anything, and especially to pay attention to the fulfillment of student requirements." Without threats, with the fulfillment of student demands", said Strbac for "Vreme".
Photo: Time / Katarina StevanovićProtest in front of the Ministry of Education
"We are not here for pleasure." These are the days when we should not be silent. For years now
our position is collapsing, they tell us to keep quiet. They tell us that we only care about the salary. We, who are here today, show that we care about dignity and the profession. We choose to put fear behind us. Prosveta is a fighter in the ring, who these days is fighting not to get knocked out. Tomorrow at 13 p.m. we submit our requests to the Ministry of Education," said one of the elementary school teachers.
Iva Draškić, dean of the Faculty of Philology, told the inspectorate to stop persecuting teachers in schools.
"We are asking the Ministry of Education and the Educational Inspectorate to stop blackmailing and persecuting teachers in primary and secondary schools. We have made that clear, however, we receive information every day that the persecution and pressures do not stop. The Ministry and the inspectorate have forgotten their role - to take care of education and teachers. "Instead, they have turned into a source of open violence against educators," said Draškić.
After the student blockade of the Freedom Bridge in Novi Sad, which lasted for 27 hours, on the occasion of three months since the tragedy at the Railway Station when the canopy fell on November 1, 2024, 15 people died and two people were seriously injured, as well as the one-day blockade of the Belgrade Autokomanda a few days before, on the same occasion, students, university professors in Serbia, as well as primary and secondary school teachers throughout the cities of Serbia continue with protests and blockades of faculty and rectory buildings, primary and secondary schools and high school.
Photo: Time / Katarina StevanovićProtest in front of the Ministry of Education
Dragana Stanišić, a biology teacher at the "Dule Karaklajić" Elementary School from Lazarevac, revealed that the teachers who are on strike at this school are in the minority.
"We are here to support students, university teachers, but also to express our own dissatisfaction, because we in primary schools are currently suffering the most pressure, because we have small children, parents support us, but it is difficult for them." Elementary students lose the most here. Threats from all sides cause exactly this," she says, looking back at the crowd in front of the ministry building," emphasized Stanišić.
