Dejan Vuk Stanković

Dejan Vuk Stanković (; born 22 January 1973) is a Serbian university professor and political analyst who has served as the minister of education of Serbia since 2025. Although not affiliated with any political party, he is a member of the Movement for the People and the State, which was initiated by Aleksandar Vučić, the president of Serbia.

Born in Belgrade, he graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Belgrade in 1998 and later obtained a doctorate from the institution. He has worked at the Faculty of Teacher Education of the University of Belgrade since 2003. Besides his academic career, he worked as a researcher, columnist, and political analyst for pro-government television channels. Stanković has opposed the student-led anti-corruption protests in Serbia. As minister, he worked on introducing various reforms, amending the Law on Higher Education and Law on Textbooks, and creating the Faculty of Serbian Studies in Niš. His nomination as minister received opposition from those supportive of the student-led protests.

Early life and career Dejan Vuk Stanković was born on 22 January 1973 in Belgrade, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia. He finished an elementary school and the First Belgrade Gymnasium in his hometown. He later graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Belgrade in 1998 with a degree in philosophy, and in 2011 he would earn his doctorate from the same institution. He began working at the Faculty of Teacher Education of the University of Belgrade in 2003.

After the Novi Sad railway station canopy collapse on 1 November 2024, student-led anti-corruption protests began in Serbia. Since their beginning, Stanković has opposed the protests, accusing the students of trying to topple the government of Serbia from power. When the Faculty of Teacher Education staff had a vote on whether to support the students in the protests, Stanković was the only one who voiced opposition. His nomination was opposed by students and professors who are supportive of the anti-corruption protests. The student plenary assembly and professors of the Faculty of Teacher Education and Independent Union of Educational Workers in Serbia also condemned his nomination due to his alleged unprofessionalism. Stanković was elected minister of education on 16 April,

Tenure

2025 Shortly after he assumed office, some professors who opposed his nomination staged a protest in front of the building of the Ministry of Education. Stanković asserted that he would work on resolving the crisis started by the anti-corruption protests, which he described as "the greatest educational crisis in the history of Serbia". The dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, Vladan Bogdanović, said that any aggressive attempts to end the protests would most likely lead to a conflict within the University of Belgrade staff. He later accused Đokić of trying to destroy Serbia.

In May, Macut's government created a working group inside Stanković's ministry that would work on amending the Law on Higher Education. Besides Stanković, members of the working group also included Đokić, Béla Bálint, the minister of science, and Dejan Madić, the rector of University of Novi Sad. In the same month, Stanković presented changes to the Law on Textbooks, stating that the changes are based on "preserving national identity" (očuvanje nacionalnog identiteta) and "respect for our mother tongue and nurturing tradition" (maternjeg jezika i negovanje tradicije). Changes to the Law on Textbooks were approved by the National Assembly of Serbia in December 2025. Stanković also joined the Movement for the People and the State, initiated by the president of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić.

Regarding the enrollment of new students, Stanković announced that quotas would be only given to faculties who begin holding classes again. By July, most faculties resumed holding classes; however, the buildings remained occupied by students. In August, Stanković announced that the wages in education would be increased to meet the average monthly salary. With the start of a new school year in September, more than 100 teachers in schools in Serbia were fired. In the same month, Stanković's ministry gave 11 humanoid robots to schools with inclusive education resource centers. In October, Stanković announced that the new academic year would begin in November instead of October. In the same month, he proposed the creation of Faculty of Serbian Studies in Niš. A month later, he proposed the creation of a new law on universities.

2026 In January 2026, the wages of education workers were increased by 5.1%. In the same month, he visited the State University of Novi Pazar with minister Husein Memić, meeting the rector Tanja Soldatović. Stanković also suggested that the lessons in schools should be shortened to 30 minutes, instead of the regular 45 minutes, stating diffuse attention as the reason behind the idea. At a government session on 25 January, he announced that his ministry has drafted four new laws that would reform education in Serbia. Former rector of the University of Belgrade, Ivanka Popović, stated her opposition to the changes. In March, he announced further reforms of primary education; he also said that Serbia will adopt the Code for the Application of Artificial Intelligence in Education.

In February, Danka Nešović, whose mandate as the director of the Fifth Belgrade Gymnasium expired that month, was appointed as an advisor to Vuk Stanković for six months. The political opposition opposed her appointment. Shortly before her term ended, Nešović suspended six professors from the Gymnasium. The Extended Rectors' College of the University of Belgrade condemned the suspensions and blamed Stanković for the decision. In late March, the Faculty of Serbian Studies received a permit to operate.

Personal life During his tenure at the Faculty of Teacher Education, he has been accused of sexual harassment by female students and of unprofessionalism. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, no sexual harassment complaints were filed against Stanković. Shortly before he became a government minister, he filed a criminal complaint against anonymous individuals who accused him of sexual harassment.

In May 2025, a group of professors of University of Belgrade accused Stanković of autoplagiarism and filed an official report against him. The report was dismissed in July. However, in December, it was announced that the Ethical Committee of the Faculty of Teacher Education would review the accusations.