Construction inspection closes part of a school in Novi Sad: parents told to collect their children without panic

Parents of first- and second-grade pupils at the “Jovan Popović” Elementary School in Novi Sad were told this morning to come and collect their children from school because the building is unsafe for further use, as the Serbian newspaper Danas reports.

The building in question is the “little school” next to the main building, attended by the youngest pupils. “By decision of the construction inspection, under an urgent procedure, the ‘little school’ is closed! Please come by 11:00, without panic, to collect your children. Bring bags in which you will pack all the items from the lockers. Tomorrow is a non-working day for the little school’s pupils. You will be informed later about how work will be organized from Monday. At 17:00, representatives of the Parents’ Council should come to the main school for a meeting with the principal, after the Crisis Situations Team meeting” — read the message sent to parents by the teachers this morning.

A parent of a first-grade pupil, who wished to remain anonymous, told Danas that none of the parents had expected that today they would have to go and get their children from school. “We had only heard there were problems with the ‘little school’ building, but we did not know the situation was such that we would have to collect the children and classes would be interrupted. Apparently that ‘little school’ building, built in the 1960s, is sinking. The kindergarten building next door was closed in September. We had heard there was a plan to add floors to that building, and now it looks like it is to be demolished. Anyway, quite confusing — I had to leave work and collect my child. Where they will go to school next week, I hope we learn over the weekend,” the parent said.

The school management told the portal 021.rs that, after changes were noticed in the building, they had informed the competent authorities in time and undertaken activities for a professional assessment of the building’s condition. The construction inspection subsequently found deficiencies and damage to the building and banned its use until they are removed.

On August 28, the school received the Preliminary Professional Opinion of the Institute for Material Testing and the Faculty of Technical Sciences of the University of Novi Sad, according to which the building could be used, except for the part used by the kindergarten. After that, on September 21, an extraordinary field inspection was carried out. On October 1, the school received the construction inspection’s decision banning the use of the building in question until the deficiencies and damage found are removed, the management said.

The school’s Crisis Situations Team decided at its meetings that educational work would be organized in the building in Ravanička, known as the “big school.” First- and second-grade pupils will be distributed into the “big school” building, where, due to the increased number of pupils, classes will be organized in three shifts.