Opposition Plan Vote of No Confidence in Education Minister

By , 18 Aug 2021, 12:00 PM Politics
Education Minister Simona Kustec Education Minister Simona Kustec gov.si

Share this:

STA, 17 August 2021 - Four centre-left parties are planning to file a motion to vote Education Minister Simona Kustec out of office, arguing that two weeks before the start of the new school year, it is still not clear how primary and secondary schools will organise the education process while the epidemiological situation in the country is deteriorating.

The announcement was made on Tuesday by Tanja Fajon, leader of the Social Democrats (SD) after a meeting of the leaders of the other three parties - the LMŠ, SAB and Left.

Fajon told the press that the no-confidence motion could be filed to the National Assembly within a week.

"It's as if the education minister has not been here for the past year and a half," Fajon said in reference to what the opposition sees as Kustec's inaction during the coronavirus epidemic.

The four parties are mulling more such motions, including against Environment Minister Andrej Vizjak, which Fajon said would be panned by the Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ).

The other three party leaders did not speak to the press.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Sport said it could not comment on the motion until it had been filed to parliament.

It stressed however, that preparations for the new school year had been in full swing and running smoothly since the start of the summer holidays.

The first meeting with all kindergarten, primary and secondary school head teachers will be held tomorrow, featuring representatives of the education and health ministries and some other key health and education institutions.

No major changes are planned compared to the last school year, except for the new requirement of compliance with the rule of having recovered from Covid or being vaccinated or tested, the ministry explained in a written statement.

The centre-left opposition has mounted an ouster motion against Kustec in spring, but she survived it in a 41:38 vote, as 46 votes are needed to sack a minister.

It is for now clear from previous statements by health officials that secondary schools students and kids in the last three years of primary school will have to self-test as was the case towards the end of the last school year. If the country enters tier red of restrictions, testing is to become mandatory and more frequent.

Photo galleries and videos

This websie uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies.