While the preparation for the enrollment of the new generation of students is in full swing across Serbia, classes for the currently enrolled students are still a topic of dispute among the university administration, faculty, and students. Even though universities are formally restarting classes, part of the student body is continuing with their boycott. Still, some of the students claim that going back to classes was the only way for the faculties to save themselves and stop being the target of punishment and revenge from the hands of the regime.
No worries, freshmen
The University of Belgrade has announced that the first enrollment deadline for the academic year 2025/26 will begin on July 21, and that the entrance exams will be held from July 24 to 29. All information on enrollment is now already available on the University of Belgrade website, as well as on the individual faculty websites.
Make-up classes and restarting classes have been voted for at all faculties in Serbia. Among other things, that was one of the conditions that the Minister of Education, Dejan Vuk Stanković, has set in order for the universities to be able to receive their quotas for enrolling the new generation of students.
According to the latest information from the National Body for Accreditation, more than 60 higher-education establishments got permission from the Ministry of Education to hold remote classes while the student blockades are continue.
Boycott of online classes, blockades, and incidents
Clashes between university administrators and students are ongoing. At some faculties, students are still not giving up on the blockades and are boycotting online classes.
Starting on Monday, the students of the Faculty of Economics in Niš entered into a “total blockade” due to online classes.
Students of the College of Electrical Engineering and Computing in Belgrade (VIŠER) were kicked off of the university’s premises on Monday due to the students’ blockade. In the meantime, the police arrived in front of the building as well as an ambulance which came because a student fell ill.
VIŠER professor, Ivana Milošević, has told media outlet Insider that the president of the Belgrade Academy of Technical and Artistic Vocational Studies, Ana Savić, along with several other professors, entered the premises of this school on Monday morning and kicked out the students in blockade who were sleeping at that moment.
On the other hand, some of the students accepted online classes as a way to protect the faculties.
“The chosen hybrid method for holding classes protects the education process without giving up basic values of our community – freedom, solidarity, and dignity – and doesn’t stop the blockade of the faculty. We reached this decision knowing that most of the faculties in Serbia are already acting according to the guidelines imposed by the government. It is clear that the faculty community is the target of institutional revenge and an attempt of punishment”, the students of Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade said. They were among the last to vote in favor of make-up classes.
As their statement adds, this decision doesn’t mark the return to “normal,” because “there is no normal under repression.” Instead, they say this decision represents a conditional normalization, adopted to protect the institution, enable students to finish the school year, and at the same time enable new ones to enroll in university.
The struggle does not stop – it transforms
One of the administrations that made an announcement regarding teaching is the administration of the Faculty of Applied Arts in Belgrade.
“The decision about make-up classes and exams for the 2024/2025 school year was not made arbitrarily by the deans of the Faculty of Applied Arts. After consultation with the heads of departments and in accordance with the letter of the rector of the University of Arts dated June 24, 2025, that decision was proposed to the Teaching-Artistic-Scientific Council of the Faculty, in which student representatives also participated equally”, the university administration said in a statement.
They added that the faculty remains dedicated to dialogue, institutional order, and preserving academic dignity.
The Faculty of Philosophy stated that, although the start of classes has been approved, it was not an easy decision.
“Nevertheless, this decision is not a retreat, it is an expression of responsibility towards our current and future students, towards the institution where we work, and towards the values we cherish. The Faculty of Philosophy remains a place where knowledge is not separated from responsibility, and education is not separated from social reality. With this decision, the fight for a fairer society and the autonomy of the university doesn’t stop – it transforms,” reads the statement on the website of the Faculty of Philosophy.
Classes are ongoing. Enrollment quotas have finally been obtained. Freshmen are preparing for entrance exams. Although the academic year seems is will continue as before, a clear message is coming from the faculties: the academic year might be able to close administratively, but the struggle for autonomy, education, dignity, and a more just society has only just started.
A.G.A., A.S.
