Student List in Serbia promises free textbooks and reforms in education and culture — platform to be unveiled tomorrow in Zaječar

The “Student List – Students Win” coalition announced today that, if it wins the snap parliamentary elections on October 25, it will fund core textbooks for primary and secondary school pupils from public funds. The books will be distributed for use through schools, with additional support for children from socio-economically vulnerable families.

Investments in schools and equipment would be directed according to real needs, primarily outside the major centers, the student list said. Curricula would be reformed on the basis of expert analysis and with the participation of teachers; instead of reproducing facts, the goal is for pupils to understand what they learn and develop critical thinking. Formative assessment would reduce the pressure of numeric grades and averages.

Children’s safety would be treated as a systemic responsibility: unified school safety standards would be introduced, with clear procedures for crisis situations and programs to prevent peer violence, psychological and digital violence, with more accessible professional support and cooperation with health and social services.

On culture, the students argue the system is burdened by insufficient funding, underpaid and insecure work and party-based management, with resources concentrated in the big cities. Allocations for culture would therefore rise to at least 1% of the republic budget and 6% of local budgets, the labor and social rights of independent artists would be regulated, and professional procedures would be introduced for selection to leadership positions in cultural institutions.