Natalija Obradović, a student at the Faculty of Teacher Education, explained what this depends on and whether other faculties in Serbia will follow the actions of the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad – a blockade and a boycott of classes. She also explained part of the ideas that students will present at the protest on 27 January in Belgrade. 

“We have seen scenes of police brutality and violations of university autonomy. I would single out Dean Milivoj Alanović and his threats of a ‘5 September’ scenario (when the police entered the campus and the faculties). We have come to a situation where a man who holds such a high position within an institution is threatening his students and colleagues with the police, fully aware of how far this can go,” she said, referring to yesterday’s events in Novi Sad. 

As a reminder, students of the Faculty of Philosophy blocked the building of the institution after Professor Jelena Kleut was dismissed. Dean Alanović called the police, who then used force to remove the students from the building. 

The student also explained the position of students from Belgrade. 

“Yesterday, colleagues from the Faculty of Philosophy voted for a blockade, and today other faculties in this city joined them and began a boycott of classes. We from Belgrade are sending our support and standing by them, as we have so far. We are together and we are united in solidarity. Many students went to Novi Sad last night and today as well. Their decision is justified,” our interlocutor emphasised. 

Whether others will follow the actions of the Faculty of Philosophy depends, as the student explained, on how the situation continues to develop. 

“Our colleagues had a good reason to do this at this moment. Decisions are made at the level of local plenums. We have realised that blocking classes is not the only form of struggle and that there are other ways to fight; we will make use of that. However, we cannot say with certainty how the situation will develop or what will happen next in Novi Sad,” she explained. 

Details of the announced protest on 27 January 

At a protest in Novi Sad, students presented two ideas from their programme – lustration and a law on the origin of property. 

Now the next steps follow. 

“We have been working on the programme for months, and our struggle is also on the streets. But it is not just us reacting; citizens are reacting as well. We have their full support, which they showed us on 28 December during the action ‘Declare Victory’. When it comes to education, I can say that it is the pillar and the light of our society, and without it there is no future. It is currently in crisis because the authorities treat education irresponsibly, but with our programme we want to bring about key changes and work on solving key problems, such as the position of education workers and even the safety of participants in the educational process,” she stressed. 

Belgrade students will, as she says, continue where their colleagues from Novi Sad left off, with a focus also on decentralising investment in education and paying attention to smaller communities. 

The protest begins at 6 p.m. in front of the Rectorate, and students and education workers will address those gathered. 

Care packages are being collected, which citizens can take to the Faculty of Medicine, the Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering, the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, the Faculty of Agriculture, the Faculty of Philosophy and the Faculty of Teacher Education. 

“Professor Jelena Kleut thinks critically and teaches students to think critically. There are such professors at the University of Belgrade and at the Faculty of Teacher Education as well, and that is what they are afraid of. They do not want such people in positions of influence,” the student concluded. 

(N1, 22.01.2026) 

https://n1info.rs/vesti/filozofski-blokada-nasilje-policija-beograd-akcija/