Serbia Education Minister rejects student request to delay university start

Serbian Minister of Education Dejan Vuk Stanković has announced that the academic year for universities will begin on October 1, rejecting requests from protesting students to delay the start until November 1.

Students currently in a blockade requested the delay to allow them to participate in upcoming election activities. Stanković dismissed the request as “legally and pedagogically unfounded,” noting that students can vote on October 25 and attend lectures on October 26. He warned that any attempts to facilitate or encourage non-attendance through university leadership would be met with investigations by the educational inspection.

Protesting students have planned to petition the University of Belgrade Rectorate and Rector Vladan Đokić, threatening further faculty blockades if their demands are not met. Meanwhile, students have begun collecting signatures for a student electoral list to be submitted to the Republic Electoral Commission.