40 PRIMARY SCHOOLS ARE OUT DUE TO HEAVY RAIN

BANJA LUKA, MARCH 28 /SRNA/ - Due to problems caused by heavy rain, 40 primary schools in Republika Srpska are out, while the classes in 12 primary schools in the area of Banja Luka and Kotor Varoš are reduced to 30 minutes.

According to the information provided by the schools to the Ministry of Education and Culture, classes have been suspended in all primary and secondary schools in areas where a state of emergency has been declared, as well as in a certain number of schools in other areas affected by this natural disaster, the Ministry of Education and Culture of Srpska announced.

In accordance with the local emergency headquarters’ decisions declaring a state of emergency in those local self-government units, classes were suspended in all primary and secondary schools in the areas of Laktaši, Čelinac, Stanari, Teslić, Gradiška, Modriča, Derventa, Prijedor, as well as in a certain number of schools in Prnjavor, Novi Grad, Brod, and Banja Luka.

In the Banja Luka area, classes in the second shift have been suspended at the Nikola Tesla Electrical-engineering School, the Banjaluka Polytechnic School and the Technical School, while in other high schools classes have been shortened to 30 minutes.

"In the schools in Novi Grad and Srbac, classes take place regularly with constant monitoring of the situation and the rise in the water level of the rivers. In the area of Semberija, Herzegovina, the Sarajevo-Romanija and Birač-Zvornik regions, classes take place regularly," the statement reads.

Today, the Ministry of Education and Culture sent all primary and secondary schools in Republika Srpska an instruction on how to proceed in cases of declaration of emergency or threat of danger caused by natural disasters and suspension of classes in such circumstances.

The line ministry called on all school principals to monitor the situation and suspend work in schools where estimated it is not possible to carry out the educational process safely.

The statement adds that the Ministry of Education and Culture is in constant contact with the principals of primary and secondary schools, as well as with the relevant institutions and institutions that monitor the situation on the ground caused by heavy rain in order to, in accordance with the newly created situation, organize or suspend school for the safety of students and school employees.