Students on online classes: "If I wanted to study like this, I would enroll in a course, not a university"

When they started in November faculty blockades, probably no one expected that the end of May would come, and that the blockades would still last - not even and students, nor professors, and least of all government representatives.

The students who started the rebellion in the country probably did not expect such a response from the citizens, nor the political and social crisis that their protest caused, but what they were clear about from the beginning and what they are persistent in is that they will not give up until their demands are met.

In the meantime, the number of their demands increased, and the pressure to end the blockades, to continue with classes and thus practically suppress, or at least pump out, the student rebellion increased.

Establishing online "horror"

Under intense pressure from the authorities in recent weeks, teaching-scientific councils of higher education institutions have been voting on the continuation of classes - remotely, that is, in online form.

65 higher education institutions in Serbia received permission to organize online classes, according to data from the National Accreditation Body (NAT) of the Council for Higher Education. Such classes have already started at some of them.

Among the first, about two months ago, online classes started at the Belgrade Academy of Vocational Studies Polytechnic.

One student of this Academy described to "Vreme" what teaching according to this model looks like - "horror".

"If I wanted to study like this, I would have paid for a course and watched some presentations. I honestly don't like anything. I don't like the fact that the January exam deadline was skipped and the third semester we didn't finish and they started sending us the lectures of the fourth semester," she tells "Vreme", wishing to remain anonymous.

Lectures on different subjects differ, he says, and everything depends on the professor.

"One professor, for example, doesn't advertise at all. He doesn't send us anything, he doesn't respond to emails. We have a professor who divides us into those 'who want to learn' and 'those who don't want to learn'. Every day he sends us emails that read: 'those who want to study today or this semester, let them contact us now by email, let them write what course they are in, and those who don't - see you next year'. One professor destroys us every day with emails. He doesn't send any lectures, but assignments. So you manage and do it", explains this student of the Polytechnic.

She says that it is difficult for her to follow everyone, because she does not know the subjects, she is not familiar with the professors, she does not know what to expect from them, she does not know what their criteria are.

"They just send, so you follow. One professor turned out to be fair to us, because he informed us about everything and explained everything. He doesn't send lectures via Google meet, like everyone else does, but he recorded himself talking so that we could better understand. On the other hand, there are professors who are a disaster and for whom I don't know what to expect if any deadlines start," she adds.

How do I draw or sculpt online?

The student with whom "Vreme" spoke is in her second year of studies. As he says, some subjects can be completed "at a distance", but this is not the case for all.

"Last year, for example, I had drawing. How do I draw online? Some other majors have sculpting, how do they do it online with a professor? Or design majors. It's certainly much more difficult for them," says the "Vremena" interviewee.

And what annoys her the most is this whole uncertainty.

"This can all end tomorrow and they can say that we have six exam dates in a month, so get ready and manage. It annoys me, that I don't know what awaits me and what to expect in a month, in two weeks, tomorrow. A few days ago we were told that online classes last until June 7 and then we will be informed in time what and how to proceed," says the student of the Belgrade Polytechnic.

Validity of online degrees?

A doctoral student at the Faculty of Physical Chemistry tells "Vreme" that at her faculty, online lectures for that level of study will begin next week.

He thinks she won't attend them.

"Online teaching in practice at most faculties looks like they are uploading presentations, the dates of online lectures have been announced, but I still don't know anyone who has attended them, they are mostly empty invitations. With us, online lectures are designed as consultations where students will ask questions after they have gone through the material themselves", explains the "Vremena" interviewee.

The number of students attending the class is not known, he says, because it is designed so that only the professor on Zoom knows who is present, and the students cannot see each other who is on the call.

"Students of physical chemistry have certainly called for a boycott of online classes because we consider them completely inappropriate for quality education and question the validity of our diplomas obtained in that way, given that our studies require hours spent in the laboratory where practical teaching is the most important part of our education," says the student of the Faculty of Physical Chemistry of the University of Belgrade.

According to the adopted reimbursement calendar, all exam dates at this faculty are scheduled consecutively for September and October.

Did the wage cuts have an effect?

In addition to confused students, professors are also confused and react differently to the current situation in their workplaces.

In an attempt to break the blockades, the authorities used various methods of pressure on the employees of higher education institutions - threatening deans, rectors, professors. Their salaries were suspended, following the promise of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić that those who do not work will receive "potatoes" and that teachers will be paid according to their performance.

This is how work stoppages and strikes in primary and secondary schools were initially suppressed, and that, according to Dragan Prole, professor of the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Novi Sad, was one of the reasons why some professors and faculty relented.

"The pressure of the government, which was primarily related to income, had some kind of effect. Institutions turned to themselves, individuals turned to themselves. It seems to me that this scenario could have been avoided with better coordination and a greater degree of solidarity. Those in power care about starting classes as soon as possible," explains Prole.

This is not the only indicator where the initial unity that lasted for a long time was broken, according to the interlocutor of "Vremen".

Disunity wins.

Most of the teachers of the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad are in favor of classes that are regular and would start from September 1, explains Prole.

"The only problem we have with that is that we need the help of the founder - the province and the Ministry of Education, because it violates what is legally called the end of the school year. The state should help us to push this type of teaching, and by October 1, 2026, three semesters would end, in full teaching capacity, in a full pool of lessons," explains Prole.

It is feasible, he adds, since the semester has 15 weeks, the year is 52, so everything can be solved with exam dates in between.

"What makes me pessimistic in this regard is that I think that only the Faculty of Philosophy is in favor of such a form. I think that the entire university and preferably all the universities in Serbia should go together. We were together, but as this question was raised, I see that it's everyone for themselves and that's something that is not a good signal. The lack of coordination and awareness that behind us is an experience that happened for the first time in the history of our republic in which it acted synchronously at the level of the entire higher education infrastructure," reminds Prole.

Although he found himself on the list of faculties that have received permission for online teaching, such a decision has still not been made at the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad.

Online teaching is not a good solution, Prole believes.

"Online teaching is a simulation of something that looks like teaching, but it is not any teaching. Online teaching is a live teaching that students follow most often on their phones. They perceive phones as a medium of communication and entertainment, not as a learning medium. When they hear such teaching, what remains for them is catastrophic. When they have recorded lectures that they can watch multiple times, return, stop, the performance is much better."

Compromise and support for students

Among the faculties that voted to start online classes was the Faculty of Economics in Belgrade.

The professor of this faculty, Branislav Boričić, tells "Vreme" that the basic idea at that higher education institution was to start with online teaching that does not interfere with blockades, so that at some point, if the opportunity arose, to switch to normal work in classrooms.

"Distance teaching is a forced solution as part of a compromise. The Faculty of Economics is absolutely with the students' demands and with the students, but on the other hand, we did not have a dilemma when the vote was held at the Teaching and Scientific Council that the school year must not fail, that we must somehow start for the sake of all students - both for those who are in the blockade and those who show a desire to be able to be in the blockade in parallel and follow part of the classes, but also for the sake of those who are not in the blockade. We felt that our great professional obligation towards the institution", says Boričić.

Such an attitude, he explains, is little understood by the public because everything is polarized.

"If you don't support me in every element, then you are against me. That's not the point," explains the "Vremena" interlocutor.

Answering the question whether it is possible to be in lockdown and listen to online classes at the same time, he says that he is convinced that it is.

"This student rebellion is something completely new compared to all the previous ones. The demands of student protests were not raised so high before and did not have such public support, but I think it is possible to hold a rebellion and listen to online classes, because this is not a 100-meter race, this is a marathon," says Professor Boričić.

The social changes that you want students to implement cannot be implemented in three months, he adds.

A process that takes years

"The question is whether they can be implemented in three years. The healing of institutions and all other requirements are processes that last for years. I tried to prepare the students that it is not good to start with radical blockades in December, but to save methods and energy for a long race. A long race must mean that they also pass some exams and run. I mean, I tell them that in life they must learn to work on three or four fronts. The struggle must exist on several fronts." Boricic explains.

He does not currently give online lectures, since the courses he teaches are from the winter semester, so students listened to them and took the colloquiums before the faculty blockade began.

His colleagues hold this type of teaching and due to the very nature of the faculty, he believes that it is possible to teach in this form, but this, he adds, is not the case with the faculties of natural and medical sciences, for example.

Although he does not currently teach, he testifies to the experiences of his colleagues who, for example, receive illustrations of sandwiches in addition to the homework they send students to do.

"It's all somehow human," adds Boricic.

Online lectures and live exams?

While it is possible to hold lectures in a virtual classroom, exams will be taken, adds the "Vremena" interlocutor, using a different method.

"We don't see that it is possible to hold the exams online. So it would somehow be live. If we finish classes by mid-July, then we would have to have several exam dates in a row from then until the end of October. However, it is not known how it will go," concludes Boričić.