Under heavy rain and despite warnings from the RHMZ and the Ministry of Internal Affairs that a storm "dangerous to people's safety" is brewing, protest "Let's defend the universities" was held on Friday (May 23) in front of the Serbian Government building in Belgrade.
The organizers of the protest were Students in the blockade, initiative United Education of Serbia and initiative A rebel university.
The intersection near the Government building was blocked, and professor at the Faculty of Philosophy Marija Babović, student at the Faculty of Political Sciences and retired law professor Vesna Rakić Vodinelić spoke from the stage.
Professors, teachers and associates requested the calling of extraordinary parliamentary elections, as well as the repeal of the regulation on the calculation of teachers' salaries, the dissolution of the working group for the drafting of the new Law on Higher Education, and the abandonment of the "commercialization and voucherization" of education.
Those gathered also asked for an end to the pressure and intimidation of employees and students, with the message that elections are the best way for a peaceful democratic way out of the crisis.
Petition to defend higher education
On the eve of the protest, a delegation of professors and researchers from several universities in Serbia submitted an academic academic petition requesting the calling of extraordinary parliamentary elections.
The petition, which FoNet had access to, asks all competent institutions of Serbia to conscientiously and responsibly perform their work and enable fair and honest elections.
The head of the delegation of the Academic Plenum, Dražen Marić, stated that - although the wish was expressed for Prime Minister Đuro Macut and President Aleksandar Vučić to receive the petition - that did not happen.
"We sent the invitation, but we can understand their busyness for this day, given that today there is a protest in front of the Government of Serbia in connection with the formation of a working group that should announce a new bill on higher education," said Marić.
He assessed that the protest "Let's defend the universities" is a clear message to the regime about what the problem is, that it must be solved, but not by repression, but in a democratic and transparent way.
Announcing elections on Monday - the most rational decision
Marić explained that the petition was designed as a sign of support for the articulation of the demands of students in the blockade of higher education institutions, stressing that the final epilogue of the socio-political crisis is precisely the calling of elections.
He expects that Macut and Vučić will respond to the petition as soon as possible and call elections on Monday, which - as he assessed - would be the most rational decision.
University of Niš professor Ranko Dragović said that the petition was submitted on behalf of members of the academic community, but that they will not be actors in the upcoming elections.
Dragović stated that the elections are "a pressing need of society", because things have changed a lot, and that protests have been held in the country for six months due to the calamity predicted by corruption. He stated that it is necessary for a new government to come to the elections, which will liberate the institutions
Over 1.500 signatures
The petition for the defense of higher education collected more than 1.500 signatures, and was launched on May 18, after the formation of the Working Group for the analysis of the current state of financing and performance of higher education in the Republic of Serbia and for the drafting of the Law on Higher Education.
The petition was initiated by the Rebel University of Belgrade, the Free University of Kragujevac, the Free University of Novi Sad, the Free University of Niš, the Forum of the University of Arts in Belgrade, the Free State University of Novi Pazar, and the Proactive University of Pristina with temporary headquarters in Kosovska Mitrovica.
In it, these collectives demand the fulfillment of student demands, including the calling of extraordinary parliamentary elections, the cessation of political pressure on universities, the cessation of work on the new law that, according to them, renders the autonomy of universities meaningless and the release of "political prisoners".
"We are deeply concerned about information that a new law on higher education is being prepared, in an extremely short period of time, which - if adopted - would lead to a permanent and irreversible erosion of public higher education. This law represents a fundamental attack on the autonomy of universities, academic standards and the public function of higher education institutions. It is not a matter of reform, but dismantling - radically changing the roles of faculties and professors, reducing them to "service providers" in a system that is opening up to complete market logic and commercialization of education", the text of the petition states.
"We see any insistence on illegal and illegitimate online teaching, which has no basis in law or the support of students in the blockade, as the last attempt by the authorities to collapse the system of higher education," it said.
