The Association for Assistance to Persons with Autism, “Children of Light,” organized a public discussion on the topic of “Improving the social and educational inclusion of children with disabilities” on March 20, 2026, at the Youth Center. The goal of the public discussion was to present the work of the Association and the advocacy initiative for amending the regulations regulating the status of teaching assistants. One of the conclusions of the discussion was that the status of teaching assistants in the RS must be better regulated by law.
The participants of the discussion are: Nikolina Klepić (B.A. in Psychology and Project Coordinator), Olivera Davidović Knežić (M.A. in Psychology and Deputy Project Coordinator), Daniela Višnjić (Legal Advisor), Tijana Vujičić (Parent), and Dijana Radić (M.A. in Psychology and Teaching Assistant).
The public forum was supported by the director of the Republic Pedagogical Institute, Slađana Tanasić; inspector and educational advisor for the evaluation of the quality of educational work, Milica Tetelski; students, members of the association "Children of Light", and parents of children with disabilities.
The father of a girl with disabilities, Zoran Ćetojević, recalls how, due to the poor working conditions of teaching assistants, they had difficulty finding an assistant, so for a while, an aunt worked with his girl as an assistant in kindergarten.
The mother of a girl with multiple disabilities, Tijana Vujičić, says that they have changed 9 teaching assistants in ten years, and that these changes have been a great shock for everyone, both for the child and for the parents and educators. She also emphasizes how humiliating it is for her to look for an assistant for her child on social networks, but she is forced to do so.
Dijana Radić, a long-time teaching assistant, says that she has been working with two children for the last three years, and that it is especially difficult for her when she cannot go to work due to illness, because the child will not go to class that day either. Her salary is also reduced due to not coming to work.
The conclusions of the public forum are as follows:
- The number of teaching assistants is increasing year by year, which means that there is a real and justified need for their engagement,
- It is necessary to change the Rulebook regulating the rights and obligations of teaching assistants,
- To perform their work well, it is necessary to educate teaching assistants,
- Create a platform for easier, more successful, and safer communication between parents and potential teaching assistants.
In particular, we would like to emphasize that parents of children with developmental difficulties can exercise the right to free legal support from the "Children of Light" association. Accordingly, we invite them to contact us. We would also like to announce that in the coming period we will launch a petition to amend the Regulation on Upbringing and Education, in the part that relates to the status of teaching assistants. We invite citizens to sign the petition and thus contribute to improving the quality of inclusion," the Children of Light Banja Luka association said.
