The new school year will begin without the national textbooks announced more than a year ago.
After the premiere was broadcast last year in February Dara from Jasenovac, at a time when the polemics about the quality and purpose of this film were dying down, the Minister of the Interior, Aleksandar Vulin, stated in the Parliament on February 24 that "the history textbook must be written by the state of Serbia", apostrophizing the events of the Second World War and the wars in the territory of the former Yugoslavia . He told the MPs "don't let others write our history".
The next day, at the same place, the Minister of Education Branko Ružić proposed that Dara from Jasenovac broadcasts in secondary schools.
Immediately after the two, President Aleksandar Vučić repeated the same thing, but as if it was his idea and initiative, and in his own way explained to the people why Serbian children should learn history, their mother tongue and geography from textbooks that will be written and prepared by the state. He said that these are textbooks of special national interest for primary and secondary schools.
As early as March 2021, XNUMX, Minister Branko Ružić ordered the formation of a working group that will implement the president's initiative.
He explained that because of this, the Law on Textbooks should be amended, author teams "who will prepare and produce textbooks with the support of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development and the Institute for the Improvement of Education and Training" should be invited. And, after that, it was as if national textbooks were no longer important.
At the president's for inspection
Last week, on the occasion of the beginning of the school year, the media remembered them as another of the President's unfulfilled actions/promises.
On this occasion, the Ministry of Education reported to the public that in May of last year, the Draft Amendments to the Law on Textbooks was prepared, and it was sent to the Cabinet of the Prime Minister and the President of the Republic of Serbia "for consultation at a higher level."
Then they did. probably encouraged by media articles today and not on any previous day since March last year, members of the NADA coalition insisted that national textbooks fit into their concern for national foundation, and Miloš Jovanović, one of the leaders, on behalf of the coalition, asked the Ministry "to make a decision that all school textbooks be printed by the State Textbook Institute, and not by foreigners."
This term "foreigners" refers to the publishing house "Klett". "Klett" has been in Serbia since 2004, it is part of the German publishing group, one of the largest in the world, and in recent years the publisher whose textbooks are the most sought after. At the time when "Klett" became a competitor to the Institute for Textbooks, the bazaar talked about the association of this house with Angela Merkel, then Prime Minister of Germany, which coincided with the establishment of good relations between Merkel and Vučić.
In today's request to the Ministry, Miloš Jovanović requests that the Institute for Textbooks define, write and distribute all textbooks because it is a matter of public interest and strategic national and identity foundation. "In this way, we will prevent foreigners from influencing the education of our children for the purpose of their interest, and contrary to ours." What is our interest? That children think what the state prescribes? Science doesn't seem to exist.
In Serbia, textbooks are prepared, published and distributed by domestic publishers registered in the APR, according to Article 14 of the Law on Textbooks. Foreigners cannot engage in this business. The most famous publishers are the Institute for Textbooks, Klett, Kreativni centar, Eduka, Gerundium and BIGZ.
The authors of the textbooks they publish are university professors and elementary school teachers from the Republic of Serbia, experts. They are residents of Serbia, and they were hired by a publisher from Serbia.
Therefore, the textbooks from which Serbian primary and secondary school students learn are not written or published by foreigners.
Also, if anything was to be questioned about the author's credibility, then it could only be their expertise, place of origin - not at all.
The same rule should apply to the intention of the state to influence the information and content of textbooks. Namely, it seems that the direction in which this initiative of the president is implemented does not lead to expertise as a criterion, but to the state view of our history, our geography, and our language.
Nobody mentions the truth. Too bad. Because it is necessary to teach in schools what happened in Jasenovac and where the borders of Serbia are, but only in the way that it befits the school: truthfully, therefore accurately and impartially. It won't work otherwise.
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