HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ CRY FOR JUSTICE: Students of the Fifth Gymnasium are not giving up on blocking the school, standing in defense of the professor!

It is the fifth day of the class blockade at the Fifth Belgrade Gymnasium, and the mother of one of the students tells N1 that she does not know how long the “children’s cry for normal classes” will continue and that they had to write to international bodies because domestic institutions are not reacting.

“I support my child, as do the other parents… After we addressed the institutions in our country, because there were violations of the law, it was necessary to move to higher authorities. This was done by our legal representative hired by the parents, and then the parents also jointly decided to address them simply as parents. The law is systematically being violated, all the children here are sending out a cry for help because the arrival of the new principal is violating the law and undermining education,” Nevena Stojičić, the mother of one student at this gymnasium, told N1.

The legal representative of the parents of the Fifth Belgrade Gymnasium sent a letter to UNICEF, the OSCE, and the ambassadors of the Quint countries, stating that they have been facing systematic violations of their rights and the rights of their children for months.

The mother says there are many reasons for the blockade, emphasizing that because many professors’ contracts were not extended, the children do not have certain subjects or have very few classes.

“There are many reasons. I regret that a Saturday morning should not be spent in front of the school, but in warm homes. We, the parents, want the children to return to classes, because that is why they enrolled in this gymnasium… My daughter hasn’t had geography for three weeks, because the contract of the professor who had a fixed-term contract was not extended. A geography professor came who teaches the subject in another school as well, and she didn’t have it for three weeks. She only had a few lessons. It turned out that the principal is unable to organize things, the schedule changes every week, classes are lost. They couldn’t get quality knowledge,” Stojičić pointed out to N1.

She added that the fight continues because “the children have the strength to fight.”

We remind you that the problems in this Gymnasium have been going on for months, and it all started with the appointment of the new acting principal Danka Nešković. Parents pointed out that Nešković is not performing her work duties, and that many professors were fired or their contracts were not extended due to their support for the students and pupils.

The parents also complained about “inhumane conditions for teaching” – that there is no air conditioning, no curtains, and that the ventilation is minimal. They requested a switch to online classes and said that the “principal threatened sanctions” due to their absence from school.

Following the continued pressure and disciplinary proceedings against employees, the students decided to start the blockade.