Minister proposes that the Jovan Jovanovic Zmaj Gymnasium be returned to the Church

Serbia's Minister of Education, Dejan Vuk Stankovic, said yesterday that perhaps one of the solutions for the Jovan Jovanovic Zmaj Gymnasium — the oldest secondary-school institution in Novi Sad — is to return it to the Serbian Orthodox Church, which founded it. "Maybe the solution is to return it to the Church, which would establish order with an educational and spiritual dimension and would restore the spiritual essence to gymnasium education in Novi Sad," Stankovic said to Informer TV.

Parents demand resignation and an apology

The parents of pupils at the gymnasium described the proposal as shocking: they demanded that the minister immediately resign and publicly apologize to the pupils and teachers. They warned that returning the school to the Church would practically mean extinguishing the gymnasium's public status and turning it into a private religious educational institution whose curriculum would be dependent on the Serbian Orthodox Church.

The parents added that Stankovic insulted the pupils and teaching staff by linking the crisis to "Vojvodina separatism" and that he did not explain why the promised competition for a new principal has not been published. They said they will defend the gymnasium even more energetically.

The minister's statement comes amid a prolonged crisis at the gymnasium, which began at the end of 2024 after the collapse of the canopy of the railway station in Novi Sad. Some pupils and teachers joined protests and commemorative gatherings for the victims, demanding accountability from the authorities. Then-prime minister Milos Vucevic claimed that his son, who studied at the gymnasium, was forced to leave class to take part in one of the gatherings; the school administration apologized, but many teachers and pupils objected and blocked the gymnasium. During the blockade, principal Radivoje Stojkovic knelt in the schoolyard, prayed and lit a candle.

Since then there has been a clash between the principal and some teachers, pupils and parents. Critics accuse him of exerting pressure, making illegal decisions and undermining the quality of instruction; the administration rejects the accusations and says it is acting in accordance with the law.

The crisis deepened after pupils were placed in three other schools due to problems with the main building, five teachers were suspended, and more than 30 of their colleagues went on sick leave. Pupils boycotted classes, and some parents called for the removal of the principal. Stojkovic's mandate expires in November; Stankovic had previously announced that the competition for a new principal would be announced in July, but parents in early August said that no competition had been published anywhere and demanded that the minister explain whether the legal deadline has been respected. The gymnasium was founded in 1810 as the Serbian Orthodox Great Gymnasium with a donation from Novi Sad merchant and philanthropist Sava Vukovic and was run by church bodies until 1920, when it came under state administration. Stankovic did not explain how the possible return of the gymnasium to the Serbian Orthodox Church would be implemented in practice.

Photo: Printscreen / YouTube / B92 TV