Traffic jams, sirens, children crossing the street in all directions to buy breakfast during the long break, a yard without a fence - that's everyday life in front of the "Savo Pejanović" Elementary School in Podgorica.
The street is very crowded, especially during the long break, from 9.05:9.20 to XNUMX:XNUMX, but also before the start of classes and at the end of the shift when students go home.
There is no fence in front of the school, and only one pedestrian crossing leads to the first shops.
The fact that the front of the school yard, which belongs to the Capital City, is unsecured is also evidenced by the fact that a nine-year-old boy was recently hit by a car, but the boy escaped without major physical injuries.
The headmistress of the school Milje Bozovic She told "Vijesti" that the school is located in the inner city center and that in front of it is a landscaped area called "Mikro 20", which is not owned by the school, but by the Capital City.
"During the long break, students from grades VI to IX use the aforementioned space, cross the street and go to food shops. In the school yard there is a training ground where physical education classes are held, and younger school students use it for their long break. There is a temporary construction fence between the City Theater and the training ground. A fence is being built between the school and the kindergarten, for which the Ministry of Education and Science has provided funds," she stated in her response.
Parents of school students are also not satisfied with the current situation and believe that the safety of their children is at risk. While some are calling for additional pedestrian crossings, others believe that stricter measures should be introduced to reduce traffic in this part of the city.
"We need more pedestrian crossings, it's just so boring. Too many cars. I would ban it. It makes no sense, I'm not thrilled with anything," she says. Sofija, the mother of one of the students.
Other parents believe that installing a fence would be the best solution.
"It would be good to put up a fence, not posts but a fence if possible. It would be ideal, and the children would be safer. That's what I suggested, it would be good," says one of them.
He also points out that traffic circulation is extremely high.
"The huge traffic flow, the flow of cars... This is a problem that needs to be addressed urgently."
That part of the yard is completely unsecured. The fence that used to warn about the construction of a multi-story building has now been breached, and anyone can enter that part of the yard.
The Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation told "Vijesti" that they were aware of the problem of the unsecured part of the yard at the "Savo Pejanović" Elementary School, and that they decided to approach solving the problem in a systematic manner.
"At the end of last year, the Government of Montenegro adopted a decision on the exchange of plots, primarily in the part where the 'Savo Pejanović' Elementary School received the disputed plot on the very edge of the school yard where the construction of a residential building was planned," the Ministry told "Vijesti".
They say that the disputed plot would thus become an integral part of the yard, which would enable the resolution of property-legal relations, that is, the entire new school yard to be permanently secured by building a fence.
"We believe that the process of exchanging plots will be completed quickly by the Capital City, which means that the Ministry, which provided the funds, could very quickly begin the activity of fencing off the entire yard so that our students are safe during their time at school," the Ministry responded.
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