Camp neither in heaven nor on earth: Do the professors stop the protest in front of the Government

Rector of the University in Belgrade and Prime Minister of the Government of Serbia they reached an agreement regarding the activities of the financial conditions for the functioning of the university and the achievement of prerequisites for the realization of regular activities of higher education institutions and in the following period, the company will undertake all the activities necessary for the organization of the entrance exam, it was stated in the joint statement Vlade.

Such an agreement was reached on Tuesday (June 10) at the fifth meeting of representatives of the Government and the university, while the second day of professors' protest continues in front of the Government building.

These were precisely the reasons for professor's protestOliver Tošković, professor of the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade, could not confirm for "Vreme" whether it will be terminated now.

See what the second night of blocking the intersection in front of the Government looked like

Blockage as pressure

Like Monty Python's Flying Circus - that's how Tošković, a professor at the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade, described in one sentence what professors of higher education institutions were forced to do earlier on Tuesday - to go out into the streets, spread awnings and umbrellas and camp in front of the Serbian Government building in Belgrade, demanding the fulfillment of their own demands.

"Bizarre" - this is how his colleague Johannes Keller from the related faculty in Ulm, a city in Germany, describes the scene he is witnessing. Bizarre, because, as he says, his colleagues are prevented from doing science, while the authorities in Serbia are trying to destroy higher education by reducing the share of scientific work for professors with a recently passed decree. Scientific work is exactly what connected him with his colleagues from Belgrade and in which they successfully collaborated for years.

"Salary cuts, threats of bankruptcy to faculties, reduction of scientific work, I think this could have a terrible impact on an institution such as the University of Belgrade. If you want to risk Serbia's opportunities in the international community and the chances for students to learn and develop at the international level, do this, and it is very irrational from my perspective," Keller tells "Vreme" while sitting under a white awning in Nemanja Street in Belgrade.

Photo: Vreme/Katarina Stevanović

Standing like a government building

A series of awnings was placed at one of the central intersections of the Serbian capital. Professors of higher education institutions placed them there on Monday (June 9), wanting to draw attention to the collapse of higher education and the problems that have been building up for months.

"This is one of the attempts with parallel other actions. Why exactly this, because it is an important intersection and with this we are increasing the pressure in the hope that the authorities care very little about life in this country and in this city, that they will try to solve the problem as soon as possible so that one of the main intersections in the city is not blocked, and it is symbolic. We are right next to the Serbian Government building and the previous national anthem (Hey, Slavs) came to mind, that we are sitting here steadfastly like a canyon, next to something which is either the Government of this country, so they will help us to function, or they are traitors of this country who will destroy the university and sell everything", Tošković told "Vreme" while the second day of their blockade was going on.

Two streets that intersect in front of the office of the prime minister and ministers, Nemanjin and Ulica kneza Miloša, are closed to traffic. Metal fences have been erected on which banners are hung, members of the police are nearby, and, according to Tošković, the gathering has been reported to the police and is reported again every day.

The protest, he clarifies, will last until the demands are fulfilled or at least until a solution is found to fulfill the demands.

However, a few hours later, after an agreement was reached between the rector and the prime minister, he could not confirm for "Vreme" whether this meant the end of their protest.

Photo: Vreme/Katarina Stevanović

And what do professors demand?

The pressure on universities, colleges and faculties has been growing rapidly in recent months, so the professors have decided to increase the pressure to fulfill their three main demands.

They are on the street primarily because of the announcement of the adoption of the new Law on Higher Education, the recently adopted decree which reduced the scientific work of professors to only five hours a week from the previous 20, and because of quotas for the enrollment of the next generation of students.

"In the working group for the law they plan to pass, they put 90 percent of people who are obedient to the government, and a large number of whom made statements against the university months before the blockades. What can we expect from the law? The solutions they plan to propose could in the long term destroy the idea of ​​education as a public good, education that is available to everyone. By adopting this law, budget positions would potentially be abolished, and therefore the possibility of educating the masses," he explains. Toskovic.

The previous Government of Serbia passed a new regulation in the technical mandate which reduced the share of hours of scientific and research work, and thus the salaries of professors who do not hold classes due to faculty blockades were reduced to 12,5 percent, to which the scientific and research work was also reduced.

"Such a decree renders the existence of a university meaningless. For almost two centuries at the University of Belgrade, we have been engaged in science and now you want to destroy it by forbidding us to engage in science, i.e. reduce it to some meaningless 10 percent, kill the concept of international projects, we cannot engage, we cannot work, you violate all international conventions and your own legal solutions", explains Tošković.

Photo: Vreme/Katarina Stevanović

Professor Johannes Keller from Ulm points out the dangers of such a regulation and the prevention of professors from participating in research projects, both domestic and international.

"You cannot remain at the international level in research with only a few percent of your time dedicated to science. Until now, the University of Belgrade was far above the universities in the region, and this level would certainly decrease. It is bizarre that professors have to sit here, instead of teaching and doing science. They support students and I perfectly understand my colleagues who are sitting here to show that the threat to science and the education system really exists in Serbia," Keller told "Vreme".

He arrived in Belgrade the day before and on Tuesday morning he came in front of the Government building.

"I'm sitting here because I want to show solidarity with my colleagues and to show that I care about the situation in Serbia and to give them some energy from abroad and show in some way that they are not alone," adds Keller.

Professors are already spending the second day on the street because there are no new enrollment quotas for university admissions.

"If the ministry doesn't allow the enrollment of new students, how can the university work. It's not about money, it's about locking the doors of the faculty, professors will have no one to teach. It's important to point out this to parents and graduates - faculties can, want to and have prepared entrance exams, the ministry doesn't allow entrance exams," explains Tošković.

Photo: Time / Katarina Stevanović

Did the professors have to go out into the street?

On Tuesday between noon and two in the afternoon, several dozen professors are under the awnings.

Among them is Dušanka Jerinić Prodanović, a professor at the Faculty of Agriculture. As he explains for "Vreme", professors are organized by shifts.

He comments on the protest they are organizing as the only way to talk to the authorities.

"You can't do it in a normal way. We came out because of three demands. We hope that they will be fulfilled soon, otherwise we wouldn't be here. Sometimes we feel miserable, sometimes we feel that something will be resolved and we think it will be resolved, because this has been going on for too long. We are sitting here until something is resolved," she told "Vreme".

While he is talking, an elderly gentleman approaches the stand and inserts a banknote into the box.

"I am surprised how many people come to greet us, bring donations in the form of juice, water, snacks, even give money," she says.

Veterans and Citizens' Councils

In order to support the struggle of professors, representatives of citizens' assemblies and war veterans also took to the streets.

Maja Novaković is standing under the awning on which the sign of the Bežaniska kosa choir is attached, offering coffee, water, and refreshments to passers-by, of whom there are not many at the moment we are talking.

"Yesterday, we set up awnings, pavilions, choirs. We came to support above all the academic community, i.e. professors and students who have been alone in this fight since the beginning. They sacrificed their year, their salaries so that we would all be better off and we believe that as citizens we must stand by them and fight because there is no other way," says Novaković.

He adds that it is absurd that the most educated people in the country have to sit on the street to achieve their own demands.

"We live in a country where lack of education, unschooling, mediocrity are celebrated and where those who stand up for what is right are harassed. That must change. Civil struggle on the street is what we have left," concludes Novaković.

Photo: Time / Katarina Stevanović

An elderly lady is sitting under another awning and says that she came to do her shift, as she saw that there were no people from her municipality. As he adds, the previous day more people gathered after five in the afternoon, so he expects it to be the same this day as well.

With a beret on his head and in an olive T-shirt with a military insignia, Tihomir Vojnović, a war veteran, is with a colleague under an irregular awning.

"We, war veterans, have gathered to first of all provide protection to the students. From the first group of students, we have been called to help and we respond every time it is necessary," concludes Vojnović for "Vreme".