PROTEST IN FRONT OF THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION: Parents demand support for educators, 16 minutes of silence held!

Under the slogan “Healthy and Safe Education,” a protest was organized by the United Education Alliance, United Parents of Serbia, and Students in Blockade in front of the Ministry of Education.

As N1’s reporter reminds, parents were the primary initiators of this protest, calling for special support for educators. From the beginning, education professionals have stood by the students—the only profession that has openly supported them throughout. Many educators emphasized that support for student demands should be even stronger. Students have reciprocated this support, and now parents have taken the initiative to call for a gathering.

Symbolically, the protest began at 11:15 AM with participants turning their backs to the Ministry of Education—a gesture meant to ‘lock’ the Ministry until it starts working in the interests of students, pupils, and the entire public, particularly education professionals.

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All those gathered on Nemanjina Street turned their backs for five minutes, intending to create a sort of “mirror”—showing the Ministry how it has been treating the public recently.

Following this, parents addressed the crowd, and at 11:52 AM, a 16-minute silence was observed, followed by seven minutes of loud noise. The protest concluded at 12:15 PM.

Parents also presented their four key demands.

Tamara Bradić spoke to the attendees, emphasizing that “the interests of children will always come first.”

“Our main goal is to stand together until all demands are met. The first demand of United Parents, under the umbrella of the United Education Alliance—which includes 21 other informal organizations—is that student demands must be fulfilled. We need to restore a time when parents and educators respect each other, as that is the key to everything,” she stated.

The second major demand, she highlighted, concerns the safety of children.