The Substance of This Nation Is Not the Church, but Education and Science

Minister of Education Dejan Vuk Stanković's statement that Jovan Jovanović Zmaj Grammar School should be "returned to the Church" is disgraceful.

The Serbian Orthodox Great Grammar School was indeed established with the support of the Church and the Serbian community. However, the present-day building of Jovina Gymnasium was constructed thanks to the endowment of Baron Miloš Bajić, who donated it to the Serbian people. This is clearly engraved above the school's entrance.

The Constitution of the Republic of Serbia guarantees that Serbia is a secular state and that religious communities are separate from the state. The Minister of Education has a duty to uphold the Constitution, not to advocate for its violation.

The Solidarity Civic Movement joins the parents of Jovina Gymnasium students in demanding answers from the Minister of Education:

Why has the principal, whose decisions have led to the deepest crisis in the school's history, been protected for two years? Why is the school being taken away from its students, teachers, parents, and the citizens of Novi Sad?

For years, we have witnessed the systematic destruction of education. Grammar schools—institutions that have educated generations of scientists, artists, physicians, and statesmen—are now under attack. The authorities are turning them into arenas for political confrontation. Jovina Gymnasium is not an isolated case; it has become a symbol of this government's attitude toward knowledge and free thought.

"The substance of this nation is not the Church, nor the army, nor the police, nor some cloak kept in the Church of Saint Sava... The true substance, the very essence of this nation, is primary, secondary and higher education, together with science. If we fail to understand that, we have no future."

Defending Jovina Gymnasium is therefore not merely a struggle for one school.

It is a struggle for the Constitution, for a secular state, for historical truth, and for our children's right to be educated in institutions that belong to the public—not to a corrupted regime and its enforcers.

We call on the citizens of Novi Sad, former and current students, parents, teachers, and all citizens to raise their voices. Jovina Gymnasium is not anyone's political toy. It is part of Novi Sad's identity.

Identity is not surrendered—it is protected.