Three out of five Serbian secondary schools are in critical condition, shows new “Crisis School Traffic Light” by UNSS
The Union of Secondary School Students of Serbia (UNSS) has released the first results of its new monitoring tool — the Crisis School Traffic Light, which tracks violations of rights and freedoms in Serbian secondary schools.
The findings are alarming: three out of five schools assessed in the first round were marked red – critical, signalling deep institutional instability and shrinking civic space within the education system.
The pilot phase included schools from Belgrade, Niš, Novi Sad, Pančevo, and Valjevo. Reported issues include unjustified dismissals of teachers and principals, restrictions on students’ public expression, and a lack of transparent decision-making.
UNSS warns that most schools lack mechanisms for protection, such as student ombudspersons or safe reporting channels, leaving young people unprotected from pressure or retaliation.
“This is not about individual incidents — it’s about institutional collapse.
Education must remain a space of freedom, not fear,” says UNSS.
The Crisis School Traffic Light is now publicly available in Serbian at www.srednjoskolci.org.rs/krizni-semafor.
UNSS calls on European partners and education institutions to recognize these alarming trends and to stand in solidarity with Serbian students and teachers defending their rights.
