Official: National Studies Textbooks Possibly as Early as September

Mladen Sarcevic: At Odds with Intellectuals

On Jan. 25, the new acting director of the state-run publishing house Sluzbeni Glasnik, Mladen Sarcevic, expressed his hope that ‘national studies textbooks’ – envisaged to contain lessons on Serbia’s history, culture, language and geography – will be available to students as of Sept. 1.

Speaking for the Politika daily, Sarcevic explained that the exact content and structure of the textbooks has yet to be determined, and that the authorities are also considering whether to publish a textbook for each school grade or a total of three: one for younger elementary students, one for older elementary students, and one for high-schoolers.

“The national studies textbooks won’t be available on the market. They will be classified as elective textbooks, [although] we will obligate teachers to use them. We’ll see how the state decides to regulate this,” said Sarcevic, who previously served as minister of education.

The official further stated that students will not be marked on their knowledge of the textbooks, but rather that texts will serve as supplements to the current curriculum.

The Sluzbeni Glasnik’s acting head also announced the government’s plans to merge the publishing house with Zavod za Udbenike, the state’s textbook institute.