Today began the second semester for about 280,000 elementary and high school students after three-week winter break. SONK announced strike due to the unsuccessful negotiations with the Ministry of Education and Science. The strike was supposed to be with the presence on the jobs, but without carrying out the assignments.
On the tour we did in Skopje schools and kindergartens, and according to what our correspondents reported, the general picture is that classes started normally in most institutions, while a smaller number of teachers are enforcing the strike.
Representatives of elementary school “Vojdan Chernodrinski” said that classes are proceeding as normal and that teachers are not at strike. The announcement of SONK that today a general strike is held could not be noticed at the front door.
– In our school, all students have regular classes and all teachers are present and working. None of the teachers in this school is on strike and the classes carried out as normal, like always – says Hristina Ristevska, director of “Vojdan Chernodrinski”.
In kindergarten “Kocho Racin”, employees said that not a single child is returned this morning and that all are taken care of as any other day. President of SONK in the kindergarden would not comment and said that, according to the hierarchy of SONK, only the president can comment. There was an announcement of SONK for strike of teachers on both entrance doors.
Representatives of elementary school “Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi” did not want to speak with the media. There as well, at the entrance doors, was an announcement for a general strike.
– We do not want to comment on anything. The situation is delicate and the media do not report independently. We have had good cooperation with the media so far, but we do not want to comment on this – said representatives of the office of the secretary of the school. They only added that no child in the morning was returned home.
Representatives of high school “Josip Broz Tito” told us that there is no strike and that all students have regular classes. There was no sign that SONK is holding a general strike in this institution.