A regulation adopted by the Serbian Ministry of Education for the 2026/27 elementary school year formally incorporates Belgrade EXPO 2027 into the official school planning framework. Article 9 of this regulation requires every primary school to include a one-day student visit to EXPO in its annual work plan for the period between 17 May and 25 June 2027.
In effect, attending the Expo is no longer optional or an extracurricular activity, as schools are now legally required to include it in their programs. The regulation does not address logistical challenges such as transportation, funding, or the participation of students from remote areas, leaving these details for schools to resolve.
The broader regulation outlines the school year’s structure, including semesters, breaks, observances, and exam dates. Within this strict framework, the EXPO provision is a deliberate addition. The same article requires schools to plan any necessary make-up teaching days, indicating that the EXPO visit may directly affect regular school schedules.
The implications are both political and administrative. By embedding EXPO 2027 in the school-year framework, the Ministry positions the exhibition as an educational experience. This approach uses schools to normalise and promote the event as part of a national agenda, extending beyond standard public outreach. Further concerns are detailed on this website.
Ministry’s defense is week
After public uproar over the regulation, the Ministry stated that EXPO school visits would be decided on a case-by-case basis at each school. However, this statement is ambiguous. While the regulation clearly requires the event to be included in school calendars, the Ministry’s clarification does not address the core issue: schools are still instructed to plan for the visit. This shifts the visit from an optional activity to an institutional endorsement, using the education system to normalise a major political initiative.
This distinction is important. Although the visit may be voluntary for families, it is mandatory for schools. When the state integrates an event into the national school framework, it becomes an official component of public policy rather than an optional extracurricular activity.
The Ministry’s response is semantic rather than substantive. It attempts to distinguish between “not compulsory for each child” and “embedded in the national school system,” yet the regulation clearly embeds the event. By requiring schools to plan an EXPO visit, the state uses the education system to promote and normalise the event, regardless of parental consent procedures.
The Ministry references school programs from other World Expos, but this comparison is selective. The key issue is not whether school visits occur elsewhere, but why the Ministry has included them without presenting a youth educational program for students. Schools are expected to decide based on students’ needs, yet no relevant content has been provided. When public schools are used to legitimise a major state project, parents are justified in questioning whose interests are being served.