Bosniak students in the eastern village Liplje have still not attended classes this school year due to alleged discrimination after their parents noticed that ‘the language of the Bosniak people’ was written in the school curriculum instead of Bosnian language.
The parents were supposed to meet with the management of the school and representatives of the Education Ministry of Bosnia’s Republika Srpska (RS) entity over the issue on Monday, but this did not happen.
“No one from the RS Ministry of Education showed up, not even the school principal. The children are not going today and will not go to school for the next few days until the language issue is over,” said Muharem Sinanovic, one of the parents.
He said that OSCE representatives will meet with the parents on Tuesday, expressing hope that they will help.
The school management has so far not commented on the issue.
“I do not have any specific information on that topic. In an informal conversation with the primary school principal, he told me that he could not help in any way with that issue because the decision was made at the entity level and they just respect it. This issue needs to be resolved at that level,” said the President of the Assembly of the City of Zvornik, Mensur Selimovic.