Parents Warn of Gymnasium Closure as Director Competition Deadline Passes
Translated from Serbian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
At a glance
- Parents of students at Jovan Jovanović Zmaj Gymnasium are concerned about the expired legal deadline for announcing a competition for the school's director.
- They have requested a public response from the Minister of Education regarding the competition's status and publication.
- Parents fear the delay could lead to the eventual closure of the gymnasium.
Parents of students at the Jovan Jovanović Zmaj Gymnasium have raised concerns, stating that the legal deadline for announcing a competition to select a new director has passed. They are publicly seeking answers from the Minister of Education, Dejan Vuk Stanković, about whether the competition was announced and where it was published.
and where it was published.
According to the parents, Minister Stanković had previously indicated that the competition would be announced in July, which was the final possible month. This timeline is crucial because the current director's mandate expires in November. The Law on the Foundations of the Education and Upbringing System stipulates that such competitions must be announced at least four to six months before the current director's term ends, meaning it could have been initiated as early as May.
However, from the competition for the director of Jovine, there is no trace anywhere, and the authorities do not want to answer the question of the parents of the students whether this competition has been announced.
However, parents report no sign of the competition. They also noted that the Temporary School Board has not responded to their request for public information, and the Mayor of Novi Sad stated the matter is not within the city's jurisdiction. Parents believe the mayor might be overlooking the presence of local government representatives on the Temporary School Board or is intentionally avoiding the question.
Žarko Mićin (Mayor) either forgot that representatives of the local self-government are also on the Temporary School Board, or simply does not want to answer the parents' question.
Expressing deep worry, the parents warned that the ongoing "crisis" at the "oldest gymnasium in Novi Sad" and the lack of a public competition are fueling fears that the authorities might aim to "completely shut down" the Jovine gymnasium.
The crisis in the oldest gymnasium in Novi Sad continues to deepen, the competition has not seen the light of day, so we are now seriously worried whether the ultimate goal of this government is the complete closure of the Jovine gymnasium.
Originally published by N1 Serbia in Serbian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.