Most of the older students voted for distance education, and this is what they think about going to school

Today, 8th grade students are taking the final exam in Serbian, Photo: Petar Markovic

The school bell has simply not rung, and the tension between students and parents over the start of classes, which begins this September 1 in the conditions of the coronavirus epidemic, is heating up. According to the Ministry of Education, although schoolchildren are going through a period of great uncertainty, it has been noted that most of the eight have decided to teach distance classes, while the largest number of champions will attend classes at school.

Milan Pasic, Undersecretary of Education in charge of Early Childhood and Primary Education, points out that everyone has the right to choose the model according to which their child will attend classes, but that everyone must bear in mind that the most important thing is that children adopt knowledge.

– We do not know what the future holds, but we know that what we learn is important. Students who will attend school in a combined model will be divided into groups A and B who will come to school on different days and, of course, students will be able to follow the classes live online, Pasic said.

However, as the president of the association “Parents”, Dragana Soćanin, says for “Alo!”, Parents whose children attend the final grades of eighth grade and high school are concerned about the seriousness with which their children they will take distance education this year. However, what they are particularly concerned about is whether the scope of the material will remain the same as in previous years.

School pupils of children, Photo: EPA-EFE / CHRISTIAN BRUNA

– Those with young children are aware that it is best for children to master basic knowledge in school, but parents of older children, who mostly have opted for distance education, fear that the expectations of teachers are the same as when they teach. attend school. Seventh and eighth grade students complain that the material is quite complex, making it especially difficult to master in the small class and distance learning conditions. Many are calling for the material to be reduced this year and for certain topics to be left for additional work when the epidemic passes, says Soćanin.

However, as our interlocutor points out, it is still not clear for parents what measures the school will take, if the crown bursts, as it happens every autumn with the flu.

– Parents are afraid! Among them, there are those who are convinced that the offered models will not be able to work even for a month. Many children have allergy and flu symptoms in the fall months, so there will almost certainly be confusion in terms of recognizing the infection, Soćanin says.

Parent meetings today

This year’s traditional reception of champions will be absent due to the coronavirus epidemic, and instead, for them, but also for fifth graders, a slightly different presentation will be organized to teachers and class teachers, depending on the how the school decides.

Is it a good decision to return the children to school?

Most of the schools in Belgrade today will organize only parent meetings, and the right to meet the teacher or class teacher, champions or Fridays they will have tomorrow.

– Schools have already prepared symbolic gifts for the first day of the champion, and the arrival of children and parents has been organized at different times to get to know the school, the teachers – said Milan Pasic, Undersecretary of Education in charge of preschool and primary education .

Less material for high school students

The president of the Forum of Professional Secondary Schools, Milorad Antić, affirms for “Alo!” That he expects a recommendation from the Ministry of Education on the reduction of materials for high school students in the coming days.

– It is not possible to process all the material in an hour that lasts thirty minutes, so it is certain that we will have to reduce it this year. It is true that practical work will be dominant in vocational schools, so I am sure that the teachers who teach it will bear the greatest burden of the current situation – says Antić.