Ministry Cares More About the 'Best Interest of the Child' Committing Violence Than the Victim's Interest

(Patria) - Primary and secondary schools are increasingly becoming dangerous places for student safety, and less and less educational institutions and places for healthy development.

Schools have become arenas where the integrity of students, and often teachers, is daily exposed to various forms of deviant and destructive behavior.

We are witnessing that daily cases of peer violence are increasingly marked not only by psychological but also by physical forms of violence.

In the past period, the media reported to the public about peer violence in Sarajevo Canton, and the latest such case is peer violence in the First Bosniak Gymnasium.

In this specific case, the public is particularly concerned about the approach of the Ministry of Education and Science of Sarajevo Canton, given that Minister Naida Hota-Muminović has taken an official stance that is not discouraging of this socially harmful phenomenon.

Thus, Minister Hota-Muminović, in response to a query from the Patria News Agency, explained that the educational and disciplinary measure of "transfer to the nearest primary school" and "expulsion from secondary school" can be imposed in accordance with Article 10 of the Rulebook on Imposing Educational and Disciplinary Measures in Primary and Secondary Schools, only after a period of three months during which the student is provided with professional support and if the individual support or care plan does not yield the expected results, or if the student's behavior has not changed positively.

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We asked Minister Hota-Muminović: What is the Ministry of Education doing to prevent the increasing peer violence

By Delvin KovačPeer violence is increasingly present in primary and secondary schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and recently it has been particularly pronounced in educational institutions in the Sarajevo Canton (KS). Perpetrators of such unacceptable behavior are often

Minister Hota-Muminović reiterated the same stance in her letter no: 11-07/02-34-49769-1/24 dated 14.11.2024, which she sent to the Parents' Council of the First Bosniak Gymnasium.

Hota-Muminović: Expulsion of a student is not possible before the development of the ISP and IC plan

Based on these two official responses from Minister Hota-Muminović, it follows that a student who commits a serious violation of student duties cannot be expelled from secondary school before the Individual Support Plan (ISP) and Individual Care Plan (ICP) are developed and implemented, and before the three-month period expires.

However, such a stance by the minister can hardly be based on the provisions of the Law on Education in Primary and Secondary Schools and the provisions of the Rulebook on Imposing Educational and Disciplinary Measures in Primary and Secondary Schools, which the minister enacted.

That the minister's stance on the impossibility of imposing the measure of expulsion from secondary school cannot be based on the Law can be determined from Article 94, Paragraph (6) of the Law on Education in Primary and Secondary Schools, which states:

"Educational and disciplinary measures are imposed gradually, except in cases of serious violation of student duties from paragraph (1) points b), c), d), e), f), g), j) of this article and other cases that are exempted from the obligation of gradual imposition of educational and disciplinary measures by the school rules".

Therefore, no limitation arises from the cited legal provision, neither regarding the gradual imposition of educational and disciplinary measures in case of a serious violation of student duties, nor regarding the obligation to develop and apply an Individual Support Plan or Individual Care Plan beforehand, so it is unclear on what basis the minister bases her stance.

Minister Hota-Muminović bases her stance on the understanding of the "best interests of the child," emphasizing that the Convention on the Rights of the Child is an integral part of the BiH Constitution.

Such a stance by Minister Hota-Muminović is, to say the least, worrying, given that in assessing what constitutes the "best interests of the child" in this way, a message is sent that society primarily considers the interests of the child who is the perpetrator of peer violence, and not the interests of the child who is the victim of violence.

Which child is more important to the minister – the bully or the victim?

In this way, the focus of social concern is, completely unjustifiably, placed on the student who commits violence, not the victim of violence. This practically means that the victim of violence remains a victim, without any guarantees that they will not be exposed to violence again within the three-month period during which, according to the minister, the Individual Support Plan or Individual Care Plan for the student who committed violence is necessarily implemented.

It is surprising that Minister Hota-Muminović's regulations do not provide for the development of an Individual Support Plan or Individual Care Plan for the victim of violence at all. The victim of violence is left to themselves, with the real danger of being exposed to violence by the same perpetrator again within three months.

Selmanović: Bullies are granted immunity from violence

As recently stated by the Member of the Sarajevo Canton Assembly, Faruk Selmanović, in this way, society actually provides protection to the perpetrator, not the victim of violence.

Through the development of ISP and ICP, bullies gain a kind of "immunity" from responsibility and remain able to commit violence again, while the victim is completely ignored and forgotten.

Minister Hota-Muminović forgets that the Law, in Article 75, Paragraph (4), stipulates that in case of conflict between two or more rights, priority is given to the right, interpretation, or action that will most benefit the child's interest.

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Selmanović: Thanks to the Government, bullies in schools can harass their peers for three months without any responsibility

(Patria) - Every day we witness an increasing level of violence in our society. Whether it is about

Therefore, it is justified to ask whether it is possible that Minister Hota-Muminović, in cases of peer violence and in situations of conflict of interest between the bully and the victim of violence, prioritizes the right of the bully, not the victim of violence.

Instead of providing the victim of violence with an environment conducive to the full development of their personality, abilities, and interests, as the Law stipulates, the minister shows readiness to prioritize the right of the bully to continue their education in the school where they committed violence, even though they can exercise this right in another school.

Why does the minister ignore the danger that a student who was a victim of violence, precisely because of the trauma they experienced, unlike the bully, will never be fully capable of dedicating themselves to learning and developing their potential and abilities to their full capacity through their education?

The Law and the Rulebook Contradict the Minister

That Minister Hota-Muminović's approach is not only pedagogically but also legally completely wrong, and that a student who commits a serious violation of student duties can still be expelled from school even before the ISP or ICP is developed, can be concluded from the clear and precise provisions, not only of the Law, but also of the Rulebook that the minister enacted.

Although the minister refers to Article 94, Paragraphs (6) and (8) of the Law and Article 10 of the Rulebook in her responses, she consciously ignores the legal provisions that stipulate that the prerequisite for imposing the measure of "expulsion from secondary school" is not the prior development of ISP and ICP and the expiration of a three-month period. Thus, the minister ignores Article 95, Paragraph (8) of the Law, which stipulates:

"A student to whom the measure of 'expulsion from secondary school' has been imposed may continue their education in another secondary school where an Individual Support Plan and an Individual Care Plan will be developed for the student with the help of the Institute in accordance with the regulation that, with the consent of the Government, is adopted by the Ministry".

Therefore, such a legal provision clearly stipulates that for a student who is expelled from secondary school, an Individual Support Plan or Individual Care Plan is developed subsequently, and that this plan is developed and implemented not in the school where the student committed the violation of serious student duties, but in the school where the student enrolls and continues their education after expulsion.

Assuming that Minister Hota-Muinović has not noticed the entirety of the Law enacted by the Sarajevo Canton Assembly, it is still difficult to believe that the minister is not familiar with the Rulebook she herself enacted.

It is true that the minister generally refers to Article 10 of the Rulebook in her letters, but it is easily noticeable that the minister avoids quoting or referring the public to Article 10, Paragraphs (6) and (7) of the Rulebook, which clearly stipulate the possibility of expelling a student from school without the prior adoption of ISP and ICP and without the expiration of a three-month period.

Thus, Article 10, Paragraph (6) of the Rulebook stipulates:

"In the event that the measure of 'expulsion from secondary school' has been imposed on a student, and if the student continues their education in another secondary school in accordance with Article 95, Paragraph (8) of the Law, the school in which the student enrolls is obliged to immediately develop an ISP or ICP for the student, depending on the assessment of the school's professional service, in cooperation with the professional service of the school from which the student was expelled, guided by the best interests of the student".

This provision of the Rulebook is further clarified by Paragraph (9), which stipulates:

"The school in which a student expelled from secondary school enrolls is immediately informed of the Institute that provides support to the school in developing the ISP or ICP and monitors its implementation, monitors the student's adaptation to the new school environment, and coordinates the cooperation between the school the student attended and the school in which the student enrolled after the measure of 'expulsion from secondary school' was imposed, in accordance with the instructions issued by the Ministry with the consent of the Sarajevo Canton Government, and in accordance with Article 95, Paragraph (8) of the Law".

Therefore, based on the provisions of the Law and the Rulebook cited above, there can be no doubt that a student can be imposed the measure of "expulsion from secondary school" for a serious violation of student duties, and that such a measure can be imposed before the ISP and ICP are developed.

Moreover, in cases where a student is expelled from school, the ISP and ICP are developed and implemented by the school in which the student enrolls after being expelled from the school where they committed the violation of serious student duties.

Therefore, the question arises from what motives and reasons Minister Hota-Muminović consciously misinterprets the completely clear provisions of the Law and the Rulebook she herself enacted.

Time will tell whether Minister Hota-Muminović's approach to the problem of peer violence will further encourage this undesirable social phenomenon and lead to new and even more severe forms of peer violence.

If we want to build the future on young people, then the first step in that direction is to provide young people with a safe and stimulating environment for the development of their personalities and potential.

And Minister Hota-Muminović, with her approach to the problem of peer violence, has shown that she cannot be part of such a project for the future.

(D.K.)