Until recently, Danka Nešović, the acting principal of the Fifth Belgrade Grammar School, will now serve as Assistant Minister of Education for Secondary Education. Following two state awards, Nešović has now also received a promotion.
After being decorated, it is perhaps no surprise – though it ought to be – that she continues her path within the very department that clung so tightly to her over the past year. This comes despite the non-renewal of contracts for long-serving teachers at the Fifth Belgrade Grammar School, the relocation of pupils to other schools, interruptions to classes, and accusations of appointing unqualified teaching staff. Her final day in office was marked by the suspension of as many as six teachers, bringing the total to 12.
When asked what her main task would be in her new position, Nešović told the FoNet news agency: “One thing at a time – you will be informed in due course about all further steps.” She wished her new colleague, Ognjen Mrvaljević, who was yesterday appointed acting head of the Fifth Belgrade Grammar School, as well as everyone at the school, much success in their work. She also stated that she hoped everything would be all right and that “the school will function normally”.
That things at the school have not been normal for quite some time is evidenced by numerous teacher suspensions, the initiation of disciplinary proceedings, police presence at the school, the locking of the institution, and even appeals by parents to international bodies over alleged violations of their children’s rights. Management that led to such problems should, if nothing else, disqualify rather than recommend someone for an even more responsible role in education. The question of merit was also raised in January when Nešović received the Saint Sava Award, followed by a decoration on Statehood Day. At the time, parents and teachers expressed dissatisfaction, asking what she had done to deserve such honours given that the Fifth Belgrade Grammar School had been “devastated”.
The same question is being asked now, which is why NIN’s interlocutors describe the decision to appoint Nešović as Assistant Minister of Education for Secondary Education as “scandalous” and “alarming” for the entire system. They say, however, that they are not surprised. They also assess that the reputation of the Fifth Belgrade Grammar School was damaged during her tenure, leaving consequences for its pupils.
“A mandate that seriously affected the school’s reputation”
Nemanja Milošević, President of the Parents’ Council, told NIN that he was not surprised by the decision. In his view, only in Serbia is it possible for Nešović to advance and obtain the significant position of Assistant Minister for Secondary Education.
“Considering everything that happened at the Fifth, this seems like a sign that the same should be done to the entire secondary education system – to devastate it. Her management of the school will certainly go down in history; it is incredible what was done to the teachers. But I expected she would receive a high-ranking position and would not leave the Fifth without an adequate reward. This is a message from the authorities that this was a demonstration exercise, and that the primary aim was to show education workers what would happen if they pointed out a problem,” Milošević said.
He believes that Nešović will not face consequences for everything that occurred at the Fifth Belgrade Grammar School, recalling that parents had appealed to international institutions over the situation. Asked about feedback, Milošević replied that the next European Parliament fact-finding mission would likely include the situation in education.
“The information we provided was sufficient to set off alarm bells for them on this issue as well. That chapter with the EU is nominally closed; however, if this situation continues, it may be reopened. UNICEF intervened when our children were relocated to two schools. Afterwards, when we returned to the school in the second term, we had no contact, but we wanted to prepare information for them regarding the new suspensions and how this affects the children. However, we will wait, given the appointment of the new acting head,” Milošević emphasised.
He added that the way Nešović managed the school left “catastrophic” consequences for the children. They went through a turbulent period in which teachers and timetables were constantly changing, making it impossible to adjust to working with one teacher in certain subjects.
“This definitely leaves consequences, especially since secondary education lasts four years. If one year is disrupted, that is a quarter of the entire educational process that is neither normal nor adequate, which is a serious problem. There were also issues with the curriculum; much was missed, and unsuitable teachers were brought in. Danka Nešović’s mandate seriously affected the reputation of the Fifth Belgrade Grammar School. Now we have a chance to restore that reputation, so I hope enrolment numbers will rise, given the situation,” Milošević concluded for NIN.
“We expected something like this”
Ana Dimitrijević, President of the Forum of Belgrade Grammar Schools, also told NIN that the news of Nešović’s appointment as Assistant Minister was not unexpected, though it is certainly worrying.
“The news of Danka Nešović’s appointment to the position of Assistant Minister of Education for Secondary Education was not received with fear, as some might expect, but with contempt. It is just another in a series of humiliations that our line ministry, our minister – who is clearly not ours because he does not act in our interest or in the interest of the profession – has inflicted on us, education workers,” she said.
She added that no one cares whether Nešović is qualified, since “negative selection” is currently in force in Serbia. Qualifications, she added, have never mattered less.
“Canopies are collapsing, ceilings are falling, people with secondary vocational education are running large and serious state sectors with which they have no connection… No one is appointed on the basis of expertise anymore, but on loyalty. I sincerely hope, as does the vast majority of my colleagues, that Danka Nešović will one day face consequences for all the unlawful actions in which she participated. I believe that no one who acts against the law should hold any responsible position in the state; therefore, I think she is not a good choice for the post to which she has been appointed,” Dimitrijević stated.
She added that she hopes and expects that all colleagues from the Fifth Belgrade Grammar School who were, as she put it, unjustly and unlawfully driven out will be reinstated.
“I believe that is the first task of the new head. That would show that he is capable of leading a school of such renown. It would certainly be in accordance with the law and in the best interests of the pupils who chose that school in order to be taught by the best,” Dimitrijević concluded for NIN.
What marked Danka Nešović’s mandate?
The problems at the Fifth Grammar School began when the previous head, Borka Popović, resigned at the beginning of 2025 after an internal exchange between her and staff was published on social media, in which she threatened teachers over blockades. Nešović was then appointed acting head; she is also director and owner of PEP Aviation Academy, a company that provides drone pilot training. Her arrival was marked by police and ambulance presence, a sandwich stuck to the door of the head’s office, a protest gathering of pupils, and teachers refusing to attend a staff council meeting.
At the time, teachers and parents publicly demanded her dismissal. The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, also commented on Nešović’s arrival at the Fifth Grammar School, stating that he “admired her courage”. The following day, Nešović prohibited pupils and teachers from entering the school unless personally invited by the acting head.
In mid-July 2025, parents of pupils at the Fifth Belgrade Grammar School announced that, by decision of the acting head, there would be no award ceremony for pupil of the generation that year. In a statement signed by parents, this was described as “yet another in a series of unreasonable decisions by the acting head that was not accepted by the majority of teachers”.
In addition to parents, teachers and pupils also publicly voiced objections to the school management’s work, pointing to pressure, suspensions and dismissals of teachers, as well as the employment of new “incompetent staff”. During the summer of last year, the school came under public scrutiny following reports that several teachers would lose their jobs because their fixed-term contracts were not renewed due to their support for students. The teachers subsequently issued a public statement claiming retaliation, alleging that the management exerted pressure and that the acting head was unethically targeting employees who had expressed their views and taken part in protests. Nešović rejected such claims, stating that these were not dismissals and that “the matter was not political, but technical in nature”.
Demanding that Nešović resign, pupils initiated a blockade that lasted from 13 October to 19 November. She then decided to relocate pupils to two elementary schools in the Savski Venac municipality – Isidora Sekulić and Radojka Lakić. Several protests by pupils and their parents followed, first in front of the Fifth Belgrade Grammar School and then outside the Ministry of Education.
Recently, some teachers, pupils and parents met with representatives of the Education Committee of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. Following the meeting, the Academy’s representatives highlighted the need to protect pupils’ rights and improve the quality of education at the school. The Serbian Psychological Society also issued a statement warning of violations of pupils’ rights to freedom of expression and of “non-pedagogical methods applied to pupils”.
In parallel with the expiry of Nešović’s mandate and the announcement by Education Minister Dejan Vuk Stanković that a new acting head would be appointed, six teachers were suspended. Nemanja Milošević, President of the Parents’ Council, told FoNet that four teachers were initially suspended – Serbian language teachers Violeta Kecman and Rastko Jevtović, followed by history teachers Marko Pištalo and Jelena Kostić. It was then reported that philosophy teacher Nebojša Marjanović was suspended, followed by his colleague, also a philosophy teacher, Mihailo Arsenijević.
The stated reason for the suspensions was participation in a meeting with representatives of the Education Committee of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. The following day, physical education teacher Ognjen Mrvaljević was appointed acting head of the Fifth Belgrade Grammar School.
(NIN, 03.03.2026)