TRANSPORTATION FOR STUDENTS WHO COVER LONG DISTANCES TO SCHOOL

29. October 2012.

Source: Narodne novine – Niš / Presevo – Although the municipality of Presevo is among the least developed municipalities in Serbia, it is one of the few ones that provides organized transportation for students who live up to ten kilometers away from the school they attend.

Head of the municipal office for social activities in the municipality of Presevo, Fadil Azilji, said that the municipality, this year, too, organized transportation by mini-busses for elementary school students whose homes are over four kilometers away from their school, since under the Law on Local Self-Government, the municipalities are obliged to do so.

"The municipality has been paying for organized transportation of students that live a long way away from the”9th. of May” elementary school in the village of Reljan since 1993, and since 2003 for students of the “Midjeni” elementary school in the village of Cerevajka. At the beginning of the school year, a public call is announced for owners of vans and minibuses, while those who can transport students under the most favorable conditions are selected", Mr. Azilji said. Azilji.

The “Midjeni” elementary school is situated in the mountainous region of the municipality of Presevo. There are a dozen small villages and hamlets in this part of the municipality, which are within eight to ten kilometers away from school, from where students are, every morning, driven by four vans to school and driven back to their homes after completion of their classes.

"It is of great importance to the safety of children who don’t walk in the snow and rain, but are driven to and from school by vehicles, since it is a mountainous area where there are stray dogs, while wolves may appear in winter, too,” he said.

Мr. Azilji also stated that the municipality provided 200,000 dinars per year for transportation of students and children attending pre-school classes in the “Midjeni” elementary school.

According to the figures provided by the Department of the Ministry of Education in Vranje, the only school that organizes transportation for students in the Pcinj district is the "Predrag Deverdzic” elementary school in Vranje Spa.