The student council of the Jovan Jovanović Zmaj High School in Novi Sad ended the school blockade today, after three weeks.
They stated that all their demands had been met, except for an apology from the director, whom they deemed irrelevant and whose removal is being demanded by the students’ parents.
“In accordance with this decision, it was agreed that the blockade would end on January 9th at 11:00 AM,” the student council stated in a press release.
They announced that “this will be done by students handing over the school key to teachers as confirmation of the end of the blockade and a whistle as a symbol of the fight for the dignity of the High School, its students, and teachers.”
They added in the statement that “selected teachers and parents of students will attend the ceremony.”
Today, they noted that the School Board had met the demands of the student council by withdrawing the controversial statement from the end of November and apologizing to teachers and students for the irregularities in issuing that statement.
The School Board also stated that it respects the students’ right to express their views and protest over the tragedy of the collapse of the canopy at the Novi Sad Railway Station.
It also stated that students and employees of the High School have the right to go to the schoolyard every Friday from 11:52 AM to 12:07 PM to pay silent tribute to the victims.
“The School Board guarantees this right without any negative consequences, such as unexcused absences, disciplinary notes in the journal, or other sanctions,” the student council stated.
They added that the School Board guarantees that participants in the blockade and teachers who supported them will not be subjected to any sanctions or unpleasantness by the school administration.
“The way the director behaved, all his actions that were neither principled nor pedagogical, have made students no longer consider his apology significant or relevant,” they stated.
Therefore, as they pointed out, students are ending the blockade and supporting parents and teachers in their further actions and taking all necessary steps to resolve the remaining open issues and problems.
Parents of students from that high school have submitted a formal request to the Ministry of Education and the Provincial Secretariat for Education for the dismissal of the school principal, Radivoj Stojković.
“With deep concern, we point out a number of irregularities in the work of the school principal, which directly endanger the safety, rights, and quality of education of our children,” the parents stated in the request.
They accused the director of intimidating students by engaging the police at the end of November and the beginning of December to escort students from classrooms to the school’s ceremonial hall, to explain to them that their way of expressing their dissatisfaction with the tragedy in Novi Sad was “not adequate.”
They added that psychological harassment and bullying of students is a “known modus operandi” of director R. Stojković.
They also stated that the director prevented the holding of the Student Parliament on several occasions in early December, thereby limiting the students’ ability to discuss problems and express their opinions.
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The petition also states that “in the same spirit, he regularly influenced the work of the School Board by pressuring its members.”
“In particular, on November 29, a meeting of the School Board was held which was convened very urgently, and it is questionable how many members were present,” the petition states.
It is added that “representatives of the student parliament and representatives of the Parent Council did not receive the minutes of that meeting.”
They accused the director of making offensive statements on a religious basis, “thereby violating the principle of equality and non-discrimination and the principle of secularism in educational institutions.”
“Such statements are an insult to students who are not Orthodox, are not Christians, or are atheists, thereby violating their human rights and dignity,” the petition states.
Parents also accused Stojković of failing to act in crisis situations.
“Instead of taking responsibility for resolving the crisis at the school, the director resorted to inappropriate activities, such as religious rituals in front of the school,” the petition states.
It was also pointed out that the director, “by his actions, significantly undermined the reputation, honor, and dignity of students, parents, and employees.”
They added that the director called the construction inspector after the students blocked the entrance to the school, under the pretext that there was a danger of the school dome collapsing, in which classes had been held regularly in the previous period.
“This means that he either lied at that moment or knew about that damage earlier, during the period when classes were held there, but did not do anything and thereby endangered the students,” it says.
It is added that the director violated professional ethics through public statements.
“Considering the content of the director’s public statements, which are full of politically biased statements, belittling of teachers, parents, and state officials, as well as comparisons with ‘Albanian irredentism’ and ‘fifth-column activities’, it is clear that the director grossly undermines the reputation of the school and compromises its political neutrality,” the parents said.
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Source: N1, Photo: N1/Ksenija Pavkov