The Aerodrom Case That Tested the System: One Child Without Support, Thirty Without Protection

The case of a third-grader at the “Lazo Angelovski” primary school in Skopje’s Aerodrom municipality alarmed the public during the past school year and put the functioning of the entire education and social system under the microscope. The institutional procedure for dealing with the pupil’s aggressive behaviour dragged on for a long time, during which more than 30 children were exposed to various forms of violence. Although the school year is over and the working group set up by the Ministry of Education has given its opinion, the answer to the question of what will happen from September remains unclear. Will this child receive support appropriate to their needs, and the other pupils a safe school environment? And will there finally be accountability for the failures?

The school year is over, but the problem has not been solved

That the third-grader should change school environment, i.e. transfer to another school, is the conclusion of the working group formed by the Ministry of Education and Science, which monitored the behaviour of the troubled pupil from the “Lazo Angelovski” primary school in Skopje’s Aerodrom. We received this information from the Ombudsman, who obtained it in an official conversation with a Ministry representative on 30 April this year. But until the transfer takes place, the child will attend classes at the same school and is to be accompanied by professionals from other schools in Aerodrom municipality.

The working group’s position is that the child should change school environment, but this is not a simple procedure. It requires the municipality to find a school to which the pupil can be transferred, taking into account the staffing of the school’s support team, the number of classes and the number of pupils per class, and appointing a class teacher with strong competences who can best support both this pupil and the other pupils, with the aim of integrating them.

The last time the Ombudsman’s office spoke by phone with the deputy principal of the “Lazo Angelovski” school, before the end of the school year, they were told that some improvement in the child’s behaviour had been noticed – specifically, the child was no longer showing physical aggression, but was still verbally aggressive. Every day the child attacked other pupils, teaching staff and support staff, using swear words and insults. The Centre for Social Work was regularly informed about this.

A three-year-old problem

The classmates of the child with behavioural problems suffered some form of violence over the past three years, although the case was only spoken about publicly at the end of 2024. Things began to unravel after parents at the “11 Oktomvri” primary school in Centar municipality boycotted classes, objecting to the child being transferred to their school because of the child’s problematic behaviour. That is when the debates began about where the child should study. Parents from the old school, who had been asking the authorities for a solution for years, raised their voices and did not want the child to study with their children again after everything they had been through. This case opened Pandora’s box: the authorities are passing responsibility to each other, but have not looked for accountability within their own ranks – did any of their employees fail?

The Parents’ Council of the “Lazo Angelovski” primary school addressed the Minister of Education and Science in an open letter, asking her for a solution that, as they put it, would protect their children. They asked how long the focus would be on one pupil as opposed to 1,510 pupils, and how long they would be intimidated by some parents from a position of power, through their acquaintances in the system who fulfil their wishes.

The parents of the third-grader also reacted, complaining that their child was a victim, and filed complaints with the Commission for the Prevention of and Protection against Discrimination and with the Ombudsman.

But how is it possible for such a case to go on for three years without anyone finding a solution? We received no response from the school. Aerodrom municipality, which oversees the school, appoints the principal and hires the staff, replied that it bears no blame. For several years, together with the school’s support services, it had worked on finding a solution to the case within its competences. It pointed the finger at central government institutions, which it says showed no interest.

But now they have hope, because they have received support from the new leadership of the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Social Policy.

The State Education Inspectorate, for its part, says it is not to blame either, and that several measures were taken in the case in accordance with the law, which unfortunately had no effect. That is why an interdisciplinary commission was formed at the Ministry of Education and a plan of action was drawn up.

Does the blame lie with the Inter-Municipal Centre for Social Work in Skopje?

The Ministry of Social Policy, Demography and Youth told us that the Inter-Municipal Centre for Social Work in Skopje handled the case of the minor in accordance with its competences and the Law on Justice for Children. It implemented assistance and protection measures with the parents and the child, and after a reassessment, a measure of supervision over the exercise of parental rights was imposed.

Despite the answer they gave us, after the case became public last December, the professional team handling it was replaced. The Ombudsman’s office also noticed this and asked for the reason.

“One of our questions in our latest letter to the institution last year was for them to explain the reasons – whether it was because they had perhaps, so to speak, established that the case had not been handled fully, that not all measures had been taken to prevent the situation that arose. However, we received an answer that it had nothing to do with the case, but that, for organisational reasons within the institution, there had been a reassignment – the professional team was given other tasks and a new professional team was formed which, to be fair, at least judging by the extensive answers they sent us, has examined the case from much earlier, starting with the child’s relationships in kindergarten, at school and in the environment where the child lives,” says Deputy Ombudsman Vaska Bajramovska-Mustafa.

Bajramovska-Mustafa confirms that a complaint from the third-grader’s parents reached them before the New Year, but she has known about the case for three years, since the child started first grade, when the first complaints from classmates’ parents about the aggressive and antisocial behaviour began to arrive. According to the school’s response, there had been no provocation from other pupils for the child’s behaviour.

“According to the evidence submitted to the Ombudsman, counselling work was done with the parents, an assessment was carried out – that is, an inspection of the family environment – contact was made with the school, and information was obtained about the relationship with the support services. They established that this is a family that cares for the child, caring parents, with no neglect and no violence that might cause such behaviour, and that, given the child’s age – the child was 6–7 years old at the time, at the start of the school year – the case would be monitored in cooperation with the school’s support services and measures would be taken to resolve all problems step by step. Based on these answers, the school was, of course, acting and taking appropriate measures in its contacts with the parents. I won’t go into how cooperative they were, given that one side gave one answer and the other side a different one, and so on. The situation ended with a large number of pupils withdrawing from the class, and the latest information we received from the worried parents certainly raises the alarm that such behaviour caused, among other things, fear and panic among the pupils, because there is no pupil without therapy or a diagnosis because of that behaviour. That is alarming and certainly points to the need for a different approach. Because you cannot say that everything has been done and there is no problem, while you have a case that shows a problem and causes problems. There is no logic and no justification for claiming that it can truly be confirmed that the authorities took all measures regarding the pupil,” explains Bajramovska-Mustafa.

For the Minister of Education, Vesna Janevska, the problem is not the child, but the system, which is not prepared to deal with the problems that arise within it. The Ministry believes that its competences in this case are the smallest, and that the school, the municipality and the social services have much greater competences.

Gjorgji Ilievski, a former inspector at the State Education Inspectorate, says that when there is a problem and no one is to blame, that is what happens in corrupt states. Not only regarding this particular case, but all the unfortunate incidents of bullying in the country’s schools, he says educational institutions deserve a failing grade for dealing with peer violence.

“It must be prevented, so that such catastrophic things don’t happen. If we continue like this, the same will keep happening: institutions will fail, and then we will look for where the problem lies – why this principal acted that way – and we’ll summon them, instead of, as I say, punishing them for their unprofessional conduct and dismissing them. Regardless of whether it’s a principal, a pedagogue, a psychologist, a teacher or a minister. In normal states governed by the rule of law, when things like this happen, the Minister of Education and Science or of Labour and Social Policy resigns immediately, or other senior officials do. We’ll get to work and in the end it will turn out the cleaner was to blame. You can’t tell where the blame lies if things aren’t well organised. We are not well organised – in theory we are well set up, but we have poor implementation; the practical side is neglected. And then we end up in a situation with no way out,” says Ilievski.

The role of the media

The three-year-old case only became known after the media reported on it. Because of this, one of the things the child’s parents pointed out was that the child is a victim of the media in particular. But Katarina Sinadinovska, a journalist and former president of the Council of Media Ethics, says that in this case the media, as rarely before, rose to the task by protecting the minor’s identity.

“After all, this is a child; that sensitivity must be present, and the child’s rights must also be respected. There absolutely must be sensitive reporting here, but sensitive reporting does not mean distorting the truth or covering up certain facts. I understand that as parents we are all sensitive about our children and none of us would want to be in such a situation, but I think public pressure can also be helpful – it can be used to fully shed light on the case, to help the child, to reassure the other parents. I think communication is absolutely necessary, and the media can even help here,” Sinadinovska stresses.

The case of the third-grader at “Lazo Angelovski” is more than an isolated incident – it is a mirror of a system that does not recognise problems in time, does not respond in a coordinated way and does not take responsibility. While institutions shift the blame to one another, the consequences are felt both by the child and by their classmates. With the school year over, the key question remains – what happens from September, and will there finally be a clear plan, concrete support and accountability for the series of institutional failures.

This content was produced by the Institute of Communication Studies.

Journalist: Natasha Janchikj Menkovski

Camera: Sladjan Miloshevski

Editing: David Miloshevski

Related stories (in Macedonian):

Victims of peer violence are attacked even when they speak publicly about it

Peer violence: A comprehensive strategy instead of ad hoc measures

Schools get no support from institutions to protect against peer violence

There are two state bodies against peer violence that we have never heard of

Where can peer violence be reported?

How can I tell if my child is a victim of peer violence?

Can I report peer violence at school?

What is peer violence or bullying?

Consistent application of the Law on Justice for Children reduces delinquency

How can we protect a child from bullying by other children at school?

This article was translated from Macedonian using artificial intelligence (AI). The original Macedonian version is available here.