Pressure on teachers and students at the Jovan Jovanović Zmaj Grammar School

Category: Persecution

Period: from Dec 2024

Outcome: Under investigation (as of 30 Oct 2026)

Since December 2024, when the management of the Jovan Jovanović Zmaj Grammar School in Novi Sad apologised to Prime Minister Miloš Vučević and students blockaded the school, principal Radivoje P. Stojković has locked the building and suspended six teachers, and 16 teachers from the union that had demanded his dismissal have lost their jobs. The provincial government says it has no authority to dismiss him, the education minister for a long time would not meet the parents, and President Vučić defended him. He was arrested in October 2026 on suspicion of failing to carry out four court decisions ordering the teachers' reinstatement. The court rejected custody but barred him from entering the school.

Apology to the prime minister and blockade

The Jovan Jovanović Zmaj Grammar School in Novi Sad, the city's oldest grammar school, has been in crisis since December 2024. When then Prime Minister Miloš Vučević said his son had been “forced” to leave class to pay tribute to the victims of the canopy collapse, the school's management publicly apologised to him. Students blockaded the school, and headmaster Radivoje P. Stojković, who has run the school since 2002, knelt and prayed in the courtyard.

A locked school

After the blockade the principal changed the locks and shut the building, and from September 2025 he moved the students to three other schools. University professors who had taught specialist classes there for years were no longer brought in. According to a statement from parents, the education inspectorate found in January 2026 that two of the new teachers did not meet the requirements.

Teachers suspended and dismissed

The teachers who backed the pupils and students paid the heaviest price. On 21 May 2026 the principal suspended six teachers (Marija Vasić, Rima Grujić, Jovan Travica, Danijela Grujić, Dragan Vulić, Biljana Prlina) over warning strikes. In early September 2026, 16 teachers whose contracts were not renewed lost their jobs, Prlina among them. All were members of the union that had demanded the principal's dismissal.

Marija Vasić was already suspended when she came to the school, following her detention in the case of the “Novi Sad group” of the PSG (a separate affair).

Court reinstates teachers

The Novi Sad Basic Court reinstated four of the suspended teachers. The principal accused the judges of a “coup” and advertised their posts, and in October the court fined him and the school for failing to reinstate the teachers whom the court had ordered back to work through interim measures. According to the teachers, dozens of criminal and misdemeanour complaints have been filed against the principal.

Protests and the authorities' response

Pupils boycotted classes several times, and parents protested under the slogan "Jovina is ours" in Novi Sad and outside the Ministry of Education and the Presidency.

Provincial Secretary Robert Otot said he had no authority to dismiss the principal. Education Minister Dejan Vuk Stanković refused to meet the parents in June, saying there was "no need to rush", and in August suggested the school might be "returned to the church". He received a delegation of parents on 5 November, and the same day the ministry instructed the School Board to propose measures against the principal and proposed an extraordinary inspection, whose findings will determine its decision; parents expect the principal to be dismissed soon. President Vučić said the problem was not the principal but the parents.

Headmaster arrested

The students returned to the building on 12 October 2026, but the dismissed teachers did not. According to Marija Vasić, she and Rima Grujić reported the principal's conduct and his disregard of court rulings to the police on 27 October. Stojković was arrested on 28 October on suspicion of failing to carry out four final court decisions ordering the teachers' reinstatement.

The Bačka Palanka Basic Public Prosecutor's Office questioned him as a suspect on 30 October and requested custody. The Novi Sad Basic Court rejected custody but, until 30 January 2027, barred him from entering the school and from approaching the teachers who are witnesses.

Teachers return, new suspensions

On 30 October 2026 students gave a ceremonial welcome to four teachers who returned to their classes; Biljana Prlina's contract was not renewed. Vučić defended the principal, saying that “he did nothing wrong”, while Novi Sad mayor Žarko Mićin called the arrest “brutal revanchism”.

Five days later, according to Rima Grujić, she and Jovan Travica were handed new suspension decisions together with documents signed by the principal, and Dragan Vulić received one the following day. She says the “new” evidence is the same strike documents as in May; hearings are scheduled for 17 and 18 November. Grujić calls this a continuation of reprisals and believes the principal may have breached the court's ban on contact with witnesses, while a member of the Parents' Council says he did breach it.

Participants

Radivoje P. Stojković: He suspended six teachers over a strike and refused to reinstate them despite court rulings, for which he was penalised and arrested (responsible)
Dejan Vuk Stanković: He said there was "no need to rush" the competition for principal and that he saw no politicisation in teachers' contracts not being renewed (commented on the case)
Robert Otot: He told parents he had no authority to dismiss the principal and promised funding to reconstruct the dome (commented on the case)
Aleksandar Vučić: He defended the principal, saying he had done nothing wrong and had been put behind bars (commented on the case)
Miloš Vučević: He said his son had been "forced" to leave class, after which the school apologised and announced disciplinary proceedings (commented on the case)
Ana Brnabić: In the debate she defended the principal, saying he has been at the school since 2002 and "knows what he is doing" (commented on the case)
“Jovan Jovanović Zmaj” Grammar School (Novi Sad): It did not reinstate the suspended teachers as a court ruling required and was penalised, and it did not renew the contracts of sixteen union members (responsible)
Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development: According to the parents, it missed the legal deadline to advertise the principal's post, and the minister said there was “no need to rush” (responsible)
Provincial Secretariat for Education, Regulations, Administration and National Minorities – National Communities: He dismissed nine members of the School Board and appointed an interim board, even though in Novi Sad board members are appointed by the City Assembly (responsible)
Basic Court in Novi Sad: He ordered four teachers reinstated and penalised the director and the school for failing to comply (investigation and courts)
Education Inspectorate of the Novi Sad City Administration for Education: According to parents, it found that two of the new teachers do not meet the requirements (investigation and courts)
Labour Inspectorate: According to the parents, he sought misdemeanour proceedings because the principal did not allow an inspection (investigation and courts)
Independent Union of Education Workers of Vojvodina (NSPRV): Its members were left without contracts; its president says thirty complaints have been filed (oversight and the public)
Žarko Mićin: He defended the principal, calling the arrest and the request for detention “brutal revanchism” (commented on the case)