Children will not return to classrooms; classes will finish online

Classes for elementary and secondary school students will end online at the end of May, Education Minister Mladen Šarčević says, adding that schools will open in June for the final elementary school exam and for pupils who wish to improve their grades.

The Minister emphasized that, under the regular school calendar, classes are scheduled to continue until mid-June, but the spring break was shortened and there were working Saturdays, so online classes will end earlier.

He said that most students’ grades would be finalized at the end of May, and that only those wishing to improve a grade would have the opportunity to do so at school in June.

“Children will not be returning to classrooms; classes will end online at the end of May. Individual visits in June will be possible to take the final elementary school exam and improve grades,” the Minister told RTS, Tanjug reports.

He added that, if the epidemiological situation is favorable, the eighth-grade graduation ceremony will be organized in the second half of June. The school calendar sets the dates as 17., 18. and 19. June, but these may also be changed. For gifted students who wish to enroll in specialized classes at grammar schools, entrance exams will be held by the first half of June.

As he said, classes for university students will also end online in mid-May. The April examination period is planned for the end of May, followed by the regular June examination period. The Minister said that under the Law on Higher Education, online exams cannot be held. Faculties with accredited online study programs must hold exams at the faculty premises.

He said that they are trying to find the best options for the planned excursions. The students will probably receive vouchers for the money already paid, which their families can use. The minister says that excursions for the next school year can only be planned provisionally, and only within Serbia.

Politics