Bandić on the devastation of the education system: Do children, parents, and teachers have a reason to rejoice at the start of school?

(Patria) - The Ministry of Education of Sarajevo Canton, led by Minister Naida Hota-Muminović, recently adopted the Rulebook on keeping records of unacceptable behaviors and/or other factors that may jeopardize the best interests of students and protect students.

As stated in the text of the rulebook published in the Official Gazette of Sarajevo Canton, this rulebook prescribes the obligation of primary and secondary schools in Sarajevo Canton to keep records of unacceptable student behaviors and/or other factors that may jeopardize the best interests of students and protect students, the authority for keeping records, the purpose, content, form, and method of keeping records, data storage from records, and personal data protection. Such a rulebook existed in 2018, but the Agency for Personal Data Protection of Bosnia and Herzegovina prohibited its use. It has now been reintroduced, under a different name and with some minor differences.

Muamer Bandić, a representative of the opposition Party for BiH, commented on the adoption of this rulebook. He believes the rulebook is not aligned with the law. Do children, parents, and teachers have a reason to rejoice at the start of the new school year this time?

- Colleague Mirnes Ajanović believes that the Ministry of Education of Sarajevo Canton has not based this by-law on the law. It involves collecting data about students without a legal basis, which includes information about students that falls under personal data. Students and parents are discriminated against, in his opinion. I believe that this type of by-law should have been adopted differently. Adopting such acts without professionals is, to say the least, unserious – said Bandić.

The rulebook has caused a number of reactions in the public, mostly negative. As he says, he consulted with people from the profession. He also had consultations with the minister.

- According to my information, the professionals submitted remarks, but those remarks were not accepted. A certain number of educators expressed dissatisfaction. The Ministry is forcing schools to break the law. Without a collective agreement, there are no rights for educators. Every law should have an incentive norm. Legal solutions must have an analysis so we know how they will affect those they will most concern. It is disgusting that educators are not involved in this. They were not consulted, and their remarks were not accepted. It's as if they want to devastate the education system – emphasized Bandić, reports Hayat.

As explained in the rulebook, for the purpose of keeping records from Article 1 of this rulebook, the school is obliged to create conditions for healthy mental and physical development, student well-being; to take care of student safety; to ensure conditions for the success of every student in learning and behavior; to monitor the health status of students while they are at school and inform parents/guardians/adoptive parents about it, as well as to provide counseling to students.

The list of indicators for early identification of risk factors and/or other factors that may jeopardize the best interests of students and protect students includes, among other things, the following:

- The student is nervous when receiving a message on their phone or computer;
- The student removes their profile picture on social media profiles;
- The student frequently goes to the toilet;
- Speech and language difficulties are observed in the student (baby talk, stuttering, delayed speech development)