The single students in a classroom can’t make memories of having conversations with their peers on their way to school, said the professors at the Negobratina Bjelo Polje Elementary School "Milomir Đalović" and the District Department of Broćanac Nikšić Elementary School "Janko Mićunović", reports CdM on April 2, 2018.
Beganović has worked at the Bjelo Polje elementary school for more than 12 years, which is located more than 40 kilometers from Bijelo Polje.
"I am a local man and a former student of this school. When I started to work, seven students were enrolled," Beganović recalled, who in the last two years transferred his knowledge to create the basis for educating just one student.
The times when the school was full of pupils, as well as the majority of schools in the rural areas of the northern region, are long gone. The last quarter of the century, according to Beganović, saw many more students in the Negobratina Regional Department. To his delight, the regional unit has a perspective and will continue to work, because, from September, two students are expected to enroll in the school.
"This is a rural area where young people are leaving. Investing in infrastructure would improve living conditions and thus keep the young people here," says Beganović.
Beganović points out that the advantages of working with one student are that they can pay more attention and more time to them, crafting the curriculum to their needs.
"We also have more time for wider education. What is missing is a society of students where pupils exchange ideas and work together. Socializing as a child has great importance. It is necessary to learn through games and to socialize with each other, and through games, a better socializaing is achieved," Beganović said. He emphasized that the role of teachers in this process is very important so that the child can fit into peer circles in the future.
"In addition to the educational work, the teacher must be a friend and a teammate, and in everyday conversation, must encourage the student to see what they can expect in further education," Beganović concludes.
In the regional unit of Broćanac, Nikšić Elementary School "Janko Mićunović", Žugić has been a teacher for 16 months.
"In the last ten years, three students at most have studied in this regional unit. The advantages of working with a small number of students are greater dedication, continuous student tracking, and mastering the material quicker," said Žugić.
The Ministry of Education has announced that 245 regional institutions in the country have 4,047 pupils. The smallest number of students are in several regional institutions in the territory of Bijelo Polje, Danilovgrad, Kolašin, Nikšić, Pljevlja, Plužine, Šavnik, where there is just one student. The largest number of pupils, 303, is at the PU Škaljari Elementary school "Njegoš" in Kotor.
This article was translated from an article on CdM.me When there is only one student in school, his teacher is his friend and teammate
