Serbia’s Education Minister: Opposition message – children shouldn't learn

The final mats test for the eighth-graders was leaked on the Internet before the pupils took it, and a print shop employee was suspected of stealing it.

Nevertheless, the eighth-graders took all the tests, including the maths exam two days after it was scheduled, but postponed due to its publication. The Ministry used a spare set of the test's tasks.

"The Ombudsman asks the Ministry what it has or has not done, and doesn’t ask the opposition what they do with the minors in the street,” Sarcevic, who said he had backing from President Aleksandar Vucic and Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, told the Srpski Telegraf daily.

He said there were “several attempts to sabotage the exams” and that “since the beginning of the test, fake profiles were opened on social networks with alleged results.”

The Minister did not mention that before.

The eighth-graders started a protest in Belgrade, the central city of Kragujevac and in Nis in the south, demanding the annulment of the final exams, enrolment to the secondary schools based on the grades during primary education and Sarcevic’s resignation.

The protests were staged for three days and received support from some academicians and opposition parties.

Sarcevic said he saw no reason to resign since the problem was discovered. Brnabic agreed, adding he was among the best ministers in her cabinet.

Vucic added he was not surprised with protests since “children like to protest,” but was bewildered with the reaction by the scholars and opposition, adding the next request might be for diplomas without exams.

The authorities directly or indirectly blamed the opposition for being behind the protests which, they said, became political.

The parents of a 15-year-old boy who took part in the protests, announced a lawsuit against Ksenija Vucic, a pro-state Pink TV journalist and Vucic’s former wife, because she, according to them, falsely blamed their son of burning Starcevic’s photo during one of the demonstrations.

They said such a report violated the conventions on protecting the minors, the media laws, the profession code and a moral in general.

The boy’s father is said to be the best man of Dragan Djilas, an opposition leader.