At the sitting held on 4 July and chaired by National Assembly Speaker and Children’s Rights Working Group Chair Prof. Dr Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic, the Children’s Rights Working Group was presented the Bill amending and modifying the Law on the Basis of the System of Education and Upbringing on the agenda for the Sixth Extraordinary Session of the National Assembly in 2011.

The sitting was attended by Assistant Minister of Science and Education Vesna Fila, Deputy Ombudsperson for Children’s Rights Tamara Luksic-Orlandic and UNICEF representatives.

Presenting the Bill, the representative of the Ministry of Science and Education said that some of the provisions of the existing law needed to be adjusted to modern education trends as well as harmonised with the provisions of the Law on Higher Education and Law on Personal Data Protection. The Bill regulates the students’ responsibility meaning that the number of unaccounted absences permitted is lowered and establishes that in a disciplinary procedure the student must be examined and give a written statement, and the procedure must be initiated within 60 days at the latest from the day of the severe violation of students’ duty.

The proposed amendments also relate to license suspensions for teachers, expert associates and educators, said the Ministry representative.

The Deputy Ombudsperson for Children’s Rights said that the Ombudsperson disagrees with some of the proposed provisions regarding the protection of children’s rights and that some of the proposed amendments lower the level of protection of the children.

In the ensuing debate the Working Group members offered some suggestions aimed at improving the quality of the Bill. They agreed that the deadline for the disciplinary procedure should be reduced to 30 days as it is not good for a child to wait that long for the procedure to be initiated and that it is inappropriate that the student should give a written statement within the disciplinary procedure as that it the most sensitive part of the procedure even when adults are concerned. The Working Group members also stated that provision should be made for the student parliament to be allowed to evaluate the quality of the textbooks and be informed of the students’ rights and duties in a timely and appropriate manner.