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The Minister of Education, Branko Ružić, stated on the occasion of the abuse case in Miroslav Aleksić’s private acting school that the issue of violence was addressed in units within the compulsory subjects of the school system, but also in extracurricular activities. “I reject the thesis that we don’t have that content in our educational system, we do,” says Ruzic. He also said that the situation in schools since the beginning of the first semester of the year regarding the coronavirus epidemic confirmed that the educational system is not fertile ground for the transmission of kovida 19. Ruzic also announced that in 2022 there will be no state. high school graduation, as previously announced. He also spoke about the obstacles on the way to the realization of the idea of free textbooks for children in Serbia …
On the TV N1 program “Pressing”, the minister declared that he rejected the thesis that the reactions to the Aleksić case lacked something that is the key to the fight against sexual abuse: a kind of education of children so that they can recognize the risk. , predators and abusers from an early age. that there is no such content in schools and that we already have a handful of such topics covered in compulsory subjects.
He said that he considers it more important to regulate the issue of private companies called schools.
“The schools of acting, football, dance, salsa … are not part of the educational system, they are private kindergartens and private schools that must have clearly defined conditions and professional staff,” said Ruzic, emphasizing that this is an interdepartmental issue. It must be resolved to consider the possibility of depriving those schools that are registered as private companies in the APR of the possibility of being called a school, academy, etc.
He also pointed out that it is important to form a working group in an interesting way, so that such striking, scandalous and bad examples are not the initial triggers to improve the situation.
“This is a call for alarm and we must address it seriously and from a formal and essential legal aspect in changing the legislative framework,” he says.
“There is no fear for children in schools because of the crown”
Regarding the situation in Serbian schools regarding the coronavirus epidemic, he said that since the beginning of the first half of the year, the experience of the previous period has been confirmed as the most important, that the educational system is not fertile ground for the covid. transmission 19.
“In the past week, all the numbers show that there is nothing that causes fear among parents, children or us in the Ministry,” Ruzic said and presented the data according to which, “regarding the epidemiological picture and the health of children. worried, everything is in the best possible order. “
He says that last week in preschool institutions the crown was determined in 17 children and 110 educators in the territory of all Serbia, which would mean 0.015 of the total of children, of which there are 224,000, and in educators that percentage. is 0.76. In elementary schools, the virus was registered in 340 students and 322 employees, representing 0.13 percent among students and 0.20 percent among teachers. In high schools last week, the infection was confirmed in 360 students and 147 employees, making it one percent of students and 0.9 percent of employees.
Asked who is monitoring the situation in schools, Ruzic replied that Batut is the reference institution that provides data, and that the Ministry also collects data from school administrations, public health institutes and schools. “There is a possibility that when an infection occurs, it will automatically enter the system. By crossing that data, we get what I read,” he says.
Regarding the presenter’s intervention that there are doubts in the public regarding these data, he emphasized that he believes that it is not possible to have major discrepancies in the published figures.
“It is obvious that the educational system is not the place where the transmission of kovid 19 occurred,” emphasized the minister.
Regarding the decision to divide the students into groups and Ana Dimiitrijevic from the Belgrade Gymnasium Forum, it is difficult to function when the teachers are infected and there is no one to change them, Ruzic says that of course the system is overloaded in this emergency, not a regular situation, but adds that it is not true that it is not possible to ensure the continuity of the educational process or that a didactic unit is not compensated.
To the principal’s observation that there is information that there is not enough technical equipment for certain forms of online teaching, that the system of such teaching is left to the initiative of teachers and parents, their laptops and cameras, and that the schools lack equipment. , the minister says that any criticism is acceptable, which can be established, but should point out that when the state of emergency was introduced, the project of the Ministry of Education, with the Ministry of Commerce, UNICEF and the Institute for the Advancement of Education , enabled to start the process that all primary and secondary schools have internet and that by 2022 that work is finished.
Likewise, he pointed out that with regard to online teaching, there was no discontinuity in the educational process, which quickly adapted to that model thanks to the dedication of the teachers who recorded the content that was broadcast and is still broadcast on the service. public. .
He added that 10,000 digital classrooms have already been equipped, with another 10,000 to be equipped in the second semester of the year and another 11,000 at the start of next school year.
He also announced that the acquisition of laptops for teachers and professors will be made. “When it comes to the educational process, of course, there is no ideal solution. It is not just the Serbian education system that is in trouble, many others are in trouble and they are grappling with a stick and a rope,” Ruzic said, but he added that he believes that we have shown ourselves capable of not endangering the educational process. .
Why don’t Serbian students get free textbooks?
When asked why students in Serbia do not receive free students, and all children received them before 2012, Ruzic said that he did not intend to “reduce this very important segment of all societies: education, to the political level. “.
Concerning the conclusion that, according to information from Professor Aleksandar Kavčić, who conducted the Free Internet Textbook Project, only one in six children in Serbia has free textbooks, Ružić says it would be more accurate to obtain them every four years and a half. child.
“Today, 700 million dinars are reserved in Serbia for textbooks that are free for categories of students with a poorer financial situation,” Ruzic said, adding that the old system, when all children from first to first Fourth graders received free textbooks, it was discriminatory towards children from 5th to 8th grade, as well as that of secondary schools.
“Not everything is in textbooks that cost 5,800 to 13,000 or 11,000 dinars” But who is renovating schools, rebuilding schools, building kindergartens? Who provides teaching resources, textbooks, digital textbooks? Does the state do it? Yes, it is free, yes. It would be ideal that we all have free textbooks, and I support any idea that is standardized and can be framed in the legal solutions we have, ”Ruzic emphasized.
He added that he does not endorse any publisher and that the idea Kavčić is talking about is certainly attractive. “But let’s see what about copyright … is it a pdf format or not?” Ruzic said.
It also says that we can only speak of a model that would be within the framework of existing law. “A change of law can be discussed, but all those who are the main actors must get involved,” Ruzic said, reiterating that 700 million dinars are earmarked for textbooks and 790 million dinars for digital textbooks, to build and rebuild schools .
Did extension educators enter priorities for vaccination?
When asked how the educators’ vaccination process is going and that they “somehow fell into the categories of primary recipients of the coronavirus vaccine in overtime,” Ruzic said that “for the sake of truth, no one inserted to educators in overtime hours “, which were determined as a priority by the reference institution.
“To date, we have about 27,000 educators who have been vaccinated, and with the fact that 320,000 people have been vaccinated in total to date, that shows how interested the educators are and how successful the process is being implemented. immunization, “said Ruzic, who insisted crisis staff have made education on their priority list from the beginning.
He also said that a small graduation exam will also be held this year, but consultations with the Institute are underway and that there may be some nuances related to the tests as there is now Serbian, math and a combined test.
“But there is almost certainly a small graduation left,” he said.
As for high school graduation, the so-called state high school graduation, he says the plan was for it to start in 2022, but that considering a coronavirus, it will almost certainly be postponed.
He dismissed allegations that almost nothing has been fixed when it comes to the state graduation exam, adding that they are working hard on that project.
