Physical education and culture teacher IR at the "Branko Božović" Elementary School, he was temporarily suspended from teaching in February this year due to alleged aggressive behavior and suspicions of sexual harassment of female students.
This was confirmed to the Center for Investigative Reporting of Montenegro (CIN-CG) by the management of the Branko Božović Elementary School and the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (MESI). According to these institutions, the case is being investigated by the competent authorities.
However, the Podgorica Basic State Prosecutor's Office said that at the request of CIN-CG, they tried to find the report of this case, but by the time the article was published, they had not been able to do so.
A report about the teacher's problematic behavior arrived anonymously, signed "Parents of students at the 'Branko Božović' Elementary School," to the Ministry of Education, Science, and Innovation (MESI) in mid-February, and the Ministry then launched an investigation into the entire case, the director of the Directorate for Preschool and Primary Education told CIN-CG. Svetlana Drobnjak.
"As soon as I found out, I took all the actions within my jurisdiction and contacted all the relevant authorities," the principal of the Branko Božović school told CIN-CG. Biljana Stamatović.
She did not respond to CIN-CG's additional questions about when and how she learned about the teacher's problematic behavior, nor did she provide the requested documentation about the case.
The teacher was suspended in February after an anonymous report to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, even though his inappropriate behavior had been known for years. This was confirmed to CIN-CG by several interlocutors, including the children's parents and former students.
As with several other addresses, CIN-CG received an anonymous tip at the end of February, stating that employees of the Montenegrin Institute for Education, during a regular inspection of the Branko Božović school, were informed about the inappropriate behavior of IR teachers towards students back in October 2024. However, it is alleged that the institutions did not take significant steps to investigate the case until the parents reported it to the Ministry of Education and Science in February.
CIN-CG has seen a report on the monitoring of the Branko Božović Elementary School conducted in October, which states that 13 percent of students reported experiencing physical violence at school, and 15 percent complained of verbal violence by teaching staff, but the names of the teachers are not listed.
The Institute claims that after learning that a certain number of students reported violence during the October inspection, they contacted the Education Inspectorate, which was their legal obligation. They did not respond to CIN-CG's question about when they did so. The Education Inspectorate also did not respond to CIN-CG's inquiries about the case and the date on which they were informed about it.
The institute, after being notified by the Ministry of Education and Research of Montenegro about the anonymous report, launched an extraordinary inspection of the Branko Božović Elementary School two weeks ago. On that occasion, about 60 students filled out a survey regarding violence and inappropriate behavior by teachers at the school, the Ministry of Education and Research told CIN-CG.
CIN-CG had access to the students' responses. They often stated that the PE teacher, whose name or initials are not given, "breaks into girls' locker rooms," "looks at girls strangely," and "touches girls inappropriately." The boys mostly responded that the inappropriate behavior applies to girls, but also that he knows how to be rude to them, that he knows how to hit children, and shouts.
“The PE teacher constantly touches us,” is the response of one of the students. “The PE teacher constantly enters the girls’ locker rooms while we are changing,” is an example of another answer, which was often found in the questionnaire. Several girls circled that when the teacher enters the locker room, he tells the girls to relax because “he has daughters too.”
The boys, on the other hand, complained about the teacher's aggression: "He's a pedophile towards girls, and sometimes aggressive towards us," was one of the responses given in the survey. "He knows how to raise his hand," "He slapped two people once, he also hit someone with a key or a whistle," were also some of the responses.
The Institute for Education said that a report was also prepared on this monitoring, and that they "made recommendations so that the school can ensure systematic protection of students from violence, through synchronized action by the pedagogical and psychological service, school administration, class leaders, teachers, professional bodies and parents/guardians."
Neither they nor the "OŠ Branko Božović" submitted a report on this surveillance upon CIN-CG's request.
The mother of a girl from the school, who insisted on anonymity, said that the teacher's problematic behavior had been known for years, and that she had often heard stories that he would break into girls' locker rooms and measure them.
The story of sexual harassment in schools in Montenegro has become a hot topic after the recent revelation of a case at the Slobodan Škerović High School. According to CIN-CG research, this problem, which has long been swept under the carpet, is present in other environments as well, and teachers and professors remain unpunished because institutions and patriarchal culture protect them.
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