“The call that cannot be refused”: teachers explain why they agreed to run on the Student List

Educators, candidates for parliament on the “Studentska lista – Studenti pobeđuju” (Student List – Students Win) list, explain the motives that took them from the classroom into politics: honor, responsibility and readiness for a fairer, freer and more orderly Serbia.

Dragan Prpa, a psychologist from Bačka Palanka, lost his job for taking part in a strike. According to him, of the 15 colleagues in his group who received dismissal decisions, 5–6 are on the student list. Teacher Andrea Besedeš Nađ was found to have been discriminated against when her contract was not renewed after 17 years of work.

Dušan Blagojević, a Serbian language professor, says “students returned politics to its original meaning.” Galjina Ognjanov, a professor at the Faculty of Economics in Belgrade, calls her candidacy “the call that cannot be refused” and says her motives are “love” and “trust.”

Ana Dimitrijević, president of the Belgrade Gymnasiums Forum, and Zoran Bašić, a philosophy professor, say hundreds of colleagues have been fired or are facing unprecedented pressure; yet fighting alongside students is one of the brightest moments of Serbian education. Katarina Šćepanović, a professor at the Philological Gymnasium, realized that union activism “hit a wall.”

The elections are held on October 25.

Source: Danas