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Schools in Serbia continue to function, although educational institutions in some municipalities of our country have switched to online teaching. The dilemma of whether schools can be closed at the municipal level and in what way after the declaration of an emergency situation, and students sent to classes from their homes, should definitely be resolved in the first next session of the government crisis staff, as “Blic” has learned.
The closure of schools in some municipalities has excited parents who have interpreted this as an introduction to the complete transition to the Internet. The question is once again open, if the classes are taught in the classrooms, until when and on what does that decision depend. The Education Ministry told “Blic” that there will be no school closings at the Serbian level. However, when it comes to individual municipalities, things are different.
The municipality of Vrbas was officially the first to close all educational institutions for 15 days and switched to online classes. In this municipality, the local crisis headquarters made the decision to introduce an emergency situation and consequently ordered the closure of schools. Vrbas, however, is not the only one and a similar situation occurred in Dimitrovgrad, only it did not reach the public. The local Municipal Headquarters for Emergency Situations made the decision to declare a state of emergency on November 2 and two days later ordered to stop the educational work in the primary and secondary schools of this city. Because of that, three school days were missed, on November 5 and 9. Dimitrovgrad, meanwhile, has switched to online classes, and the school has also brought a plan to make up for lost days.
In the crisis staff session, the mechanism for going online must be specified for several reasons, and one is the law. According to the Law of Fundamentals of the Educational System, article 105 establishes that the local crisis headquarters can close schools, but not make the decision to switch to the Internet. This practically means that, by law, schools can only be closed completely. But the fact is, the regulation was made before the pandemic and there is no provision for online teaching today. To overcome this legal ‘loophole’, but also to definitively clarify what can and cannot be done and under what conditions, the Ministry of Education will propose a model according to which it can be connected when local crisis headquarters declare the state of emergency.
In practice, the mechanism is as follows: the local crisis headquarters makes a decision about the emergency situation and suspends the work of the school, which can only be done in accordance with the law. However, in order not to interrupt the classes, but to continue online, the next instance is to go to the School Administration with a request to change the way of working, that is, the operational work plan, and go online. The school administration consults the ministry and a recommendation is made to move online.
During the latest wave of kovida-19, when it comes to switching to the Internet, it just happened that individual classes or groups did not go to school for 15 days. Students are referred to learn from home if more than two students in the class are ill.
Teachers who suffer from chronic diseases and who consider that they have a special risk of contagion, can contact the chosen doctor or specialist who will evaluate if there is a particularly high risk of contagion, which can open the teacher’s absence from work. During the teacher’s illness, the principal is obliged to provide a professional replacement, in order to provide the conditions for teaching in accordance with the school’s operational plan and the chosen teaching model.
The Crisis Staff session for the fight against kovid-19 will be held on Friday morning at 9 am.
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