“School under siege for two years”: Jovin’s director accuses judges of a “coup” and seeks restraining orders against professors

Radivoje Stojković, director of Jovan Jovanović Zmaj Grammar School in Novi Sad, says the school has been “under siege” for two years. He has announced an appeal against a court decision that temporarily returned suspended teachers to their jobs and has accused the judges involved of carrying out a “coup.”

Stojković said he had asked for restraining orders preventing teacher Marija Vasić and University of Novi Sad professor Goran Radojev from approaching the school or him personally. At the start of his news conference, he ordered Radojev, a parent whose child attends the school, to leave the room.

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This school has been under siege for two years. This school has been blocked for two years, both from outside and within.

“Under our new protocol, for every unauthorized entry into the school premises, we will notify the police and request that the person who entered without authorization leave the premises accompanied by the police,” Stojković said. He accused Radojev of blocking classes at both the faculty and the grammar school and of holding lectures at the school in January 2025 without authorization from the relevant school bodies.

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This is a judicial attack on education, and through education on the Constitution and laws.

Stojković described the school as blocked both from outside and within. He said teachers and parents feared legal consequences, while underage students had begun taking what he called unlawful actions. He argued that students were not responsible for the latest confrontation, which he characterized as “a judicial attack on education” and, through education, on the constitution and laws.

He said he would appeal the decision by four judges of the Basic Court in Novi Sad and seek their exclusion from the case. The decision returning Vasić to work is not final, he added. Stojković also accused her of giving students instructions on how to break in on Sept. 2, and said he had filed a complaint seeking a restraining order against her. He made the same request regarding Radojev, a professor at the Faculty of Sciences and former professional associate of the school.

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Under our new protocol, for every unauthorized entry into the school premises, we will notify the police and request that the person who entered without authorization leave the premises accompanied by the police.