Schools will have to register parents

Institutions are obliged to notify the authorities if a parent frequently neglects the obligations provided for in the regulation, but also if violence against students or school employees occurs.

New criteria have been established for hiring teachers, as well as the possibility of checking the quality of their work

The method of electing directors in the Draft Law, which was worked on by a multi-member working group, remained unchanged compared to the changes from September - despite criticism, the managers are chosen by the minister

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Photo: Reuters
Photo: Reuters
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

Any type of violence against a student, teacher or other employee is prohibited in educational institutions, and against those who dare to do so, misdemeanor or criminal proceedings will be initiated, in accordance with the law, it is stated in the Draft General Law on Education, which is on public hearing from Monday.

For several months, the draft was coordinated by a working group formed by the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation, composed of representatives of educational institutions and institutions, as well as the Trade Union of Education and the civil sector.

In the text of amendments and additions to the regulations published on the website, there are no provisions related to the method of electing directors, which civil sector organizations demanded after the resolution was voted for the second time in the Parliament of Montenegro at the beginning of September that the heads of institutions are again elected by the minister instead of school boards .

In the joint statement of Action for Human Rights, Juventas, Association Parents, Prime, Forum MNE and CAZAS, it was announced that "the centralized election of school principals once again enables the dominance of political suitability in the educational system".

They announced that they will try to correct such a solution through the working group that has been working on the text of the amendments to the law published on Monday since June.

The Center for Civic Education (CGO) has repeatedly requested that the Ministry abandon the decision according to which the Minister is responsible for the election of the director.

"This re-establishes a previously proven harmful model of inappropriate political influence and control of employees in education, of which there are over 14,000, and which, along with family members, represents a serious vote reservoir for the party that has a line minister," said the CGE.

According to the General Law on Education, principals are reappointed by the minister instead of school boards, and candidates must have at least five years of teaching experience, pass a written test at the Ministry and get good grades in an oral interview before the commissions of the education department.

According to the current General Law on Education, the Minister is obliged to appoint the first-ranked candidate as the head of the educational institution, after the checks have been carried out. The possibility of choosing the second-ranked or third-ranked candidate is left, but the minister must justify such a decision.

RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF PARENTS

In addition to prescribing sanctions for those who behave violently, the Draft Law also specifies the rights and obligations of parents.

It was emphasized that if a parent frequently neglects his obligations, the institution is obliged to inform the Ministry, the competent authority and the competent institution of social protection.

"The parent of a child or student has the right to be regularly informed about the child's achievements. He is responsible for the regular attendance of students' classes, he is obliged to actively participate in all forms of educational work at the institution's invitation, especially in the implementation of the plan of enhanced educational work. The parent is obliged to respect the rules on the work of the educational institution (house rules, etc.), especially regarding the prohibition of any form of verbal and physical violence in the institution. He is obliged to compensate the material damage caused by the student to the school," the Draft Law states.

DIRECTORS KEEP THE WORKPLACE FOR TWO TERMS

Although the director is chosen by the minister, the Draft General Law expands the cases in which the head of the institution can be dismissed. Among other things, the director shall be dismissed if he does not execute a final and enforceable court verdict, has not taken measures to prevent and suppress peer violence, and allows the promotion and sale of goods or services contrary to the law," the document states.

According to the amendments, the same person as acting director may be elected twice consecutively.

"The draft law stipulates that the director of a public institution, in contrast to the current provision, has a suspended employment relationship not only during the first term, but also during the second term, which will mean additional security for the best staff, i.e. those persons who were elected by the second time for the director of the institution. Also, the same right is established for the assistant director during the second mandate", says the explanation of the changes to the law.

Jakšić Stojanović
Jakšić Stojanovićphoto: Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation

The current regulation, adopted at the beginning of September, specifies that the competition for the election of directors must be announced three months before the end of the mandate of the current manager.

"The director candidate submits to the institution an application with documentation in the form of a certified copy and the development program of the public institution, in a sealed envelope. The director of a public institution is elected and dismissed by the minister, in accordance with the law. The institution submits to the Ministry the application of the candidate for the director's competition with documentation within seven days from the date of the competition's expiration. The Ministry reviews applications and documentation of candidates and compiles a list of candidates who meet the conditions of the competition. In the application review process, the Ministry will ask the institution that issued an inaccurate work experience certificate to supplement the certificate. The minister is obliged to choose the candidate who is first on the list. Exceptionally, the minister can also choose the second-ranked or third-ranked candidate from the list, with the fact that he is obliged to explain the decision", reads the proposal to amend the umbrella education law.

It is specified that candidates who submit proper documentation to the competition are subject to a check of competence, knowledge and abilities.

"The verification is done through a written test and an oral interview based on the prescribed criteria. The inspection is carried out by a commission formed by the minister. The committee consists of: a representative of the Ministry, a representative of the Institute for Education, i.e. the Center, and one external member, from among prominent experts in the field of education for which the director is elected. The external member is appointed by the minister from the list of prominent experts. The list of distinguished experts is formed on the basis of a public call. An external member can be a person employed in an educational institution who has at least: the seventh level of educational qualification and at least seven years of work experience in teaching, of which, as a rule, at least three years in a managerial position in the field of education", the document emphasizes and adds to specify the method of conducting the check, the criteria and the method of evaluation, as well as the method of compiling the list of candidates for the election of directors, the Ministry prescribes.

The draft of amendments to the General Law on Education is on public debate until October 20.

Until the job, the best, and for training if he does not show quality

The draft law also specifies the method of employment in schools, which has been criticized many times so far.

"When it comes to the employment of teachers, and in order to ensure the quality of teaching and the transparency of employment in educational institutions, the criteria are defined as the average grade, i.e. the index of success in studies, the waiting time for employment at the appropriate level of education and the length of work for a certain period of time in appropriate level of education. The method of scoring the criteria and making the ranking list is prescribed by the Ministry", it is stated in the explanation of the draft.

The Ministry of Education claims that the provisions related to temporary employment, as well as teachers-trainees, and the area of ​​taking professional exams are being further improved, specifying the provisions related to the reduction of the norm...

"Also, with the aim of overall provision and improvement of the quality of the educational work of teachers, the law establishes the possibility and conditions for assessing the quality of that work in the case when the quality of teaching is not achieved in accordance with the prescribed standards, as well as in cases of non-objective assessment of students during the course of classes , as well as at the end of the classification period", it was explained.

The director of the institution, with the opinion of the teacher's or professional council of the institution, can request that the teacher's work be scrutinized if he does not achieve the quality of teaching in accordance with the standards, but also if "the committee for checking student knowledge during the school year determines that the teacher is in During the course of classes in one school year, he assessed a student objectively twice or did not evaluate him in the prescribed manner, i.e. if at least two students objected to the final evaluation at the end of the semester, teaching or school year, the committee determined that the student was evaluated objectively".

The evaluation of teachers' work, the explanation states, is carried out by the Institute for Education or the Center for Vocational Education.

"If in that procedure it is determined that the teacher is not satisfied, he is directed to attend additional professional development programs in accordance with the recommendations of the Institute or the Center, with the re-checking of the quality of the teacher's educational work after one year. In the event that the re-check determines that the teacher is not satisfactory, he exercises his rights as an employee whose work has ceased to be necessary", it was explained.

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