The Acting Director of the Institute for Education Quality and Evaluation, Prof. Dr Boris Stojkovski, and the Deputy Director, Assoc. Prof. Dr Milan Gromović, took part in panel discussions at the conference Current Developments in the Education System of the Republic of Serbia 10, held from 28 to 30 September 2026 at the “Zepter” Hotel in Vrnjačka Banja. They spoke with principals, assistant principals, professional associates, and school secretaries about school leadership, cooperation with the Institute in monitoring education quality, and the position of principals.
At the panel Managing the Educational Process in Schools: Monitoring and Improving Staff Performance, Stojkovski discussed the importance of the new student achievement standards and their implementation in Serbia’s education system. He also addressed the significance of international assessments—including PISA, PIRLS, TIMSS, and TALIS—and the participation of primary and secondary schools in their implementation. He highlighted the excellent cooperation many schools have had with the Institute in conducting these assessments and emphasised the importance of continuing this collaboration in monitoring and improving education quality.
Speaking at the panel The Principal Between Three Fires: How to Maintain Authority, Relationships, and Mental Health in the Modern School?, Gromović addressed the role of principals in school communities, their responsibility for resolving ongoing issues, and their actions in crises, while maintaining professional relationships and safeguarding their own mental health.
Gromović emphasised the contribution of principals to cooperation between schools and the Institute in monitoring and improving education quality. As an example of the responsibility that school leadership carries in crisis circumstances, he referred to principals’ responses to bomb threats during PISA testing. According to him, principals demonstrated a high level of professionalism and responsibility in those situations.
Given the pressures and responsibilities inherent in the role, the need for support for principals in protecting their mental health was underscored.
In addition, Gromović pointed to the need for the position of principals to be improved and more clearly recognised within the legal framework, in order to facilitate the performance of school leadership duties. The discussion also addressed support for principals in maintaining a positive professional climate within their staff, as well as the importance of continuous professional development and the exchange of experiences in responding to the evolving demands of their role.
The conference was organised by the Network of Regional Centres and Centres for Professional Development in Serbia, and hosted by the Centre for Professional Development Kruševac. The accredited professional gathering included two panel discussions and four workshops dedicated to the organisation and legality of institutional work, financial and administrative management, cooperation with parents and other partners, and possibilities for applying artificial intelligence in the work of principals.
