The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, announced changes in the funding of faculties and more money to private higher education institutions in order to break the monopoly of state faculties. Professors of some private colleges see it as a rift in the academic community
President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić announced that he will personally initiate a change in the law according to which the amount of money that will be given from the budget to private faculties will be increased, because he wants to increase the competition of state faculties and break their monopoly.
As he said, he will see if the Government will agree, and if not, he will go against the Government in the National Assembly, so he will see who will get the majority in the parliament to pass a law that would distribute money to faculties differently.
"I want to strengthen the private sector in our country. I want more students to have the right to budget funding at private colleges than is the case today. Private colleges have proven to be much more stable, as much more serious, as colleges and universities that want to provide knowledge and education to people. Private property has proven to be property that manages capacities much better than state property," said Vučić.
"Inappropriate initiative and vengeful pressure"
Such announcements come during the fifth month of the blockade of faculties in Serbia.
The teachers and associates of the private Law Faculty of Union University in Belgrade condemn this announcement by the President of Serbia as an attempt to sow discord in the academic community.
"We do not agree to be an instrument for the regime's reckoning with part of the academic community and for its violent disciplining," states the statement signed by 24 male and female lecturers of that private faculty.
As they add, "in the circumstances of the blockade of almost all state and a number of private faculties, when dissatisfied male and female students of all faculties are fighting for the fulfillment of the demands set after the fall of the canopy in Novi Sad", they see the initiation of this topic as "an inappropriate initiative and vengeful pressure on male and female colleagues from the faculty founded by the Republic".
As they state, faculties are divided into those that provide quality education and those that do not.
"The former should be supported regardless of the form of ownership, in accordance with the best European practices, especially when they manage to achieve valuable educational and scientific results even in unfavorable working conditions. The form of ownership has nothing to do with it, just as it cannot be of importance when it comes to an unshakable commitment to the values of democracy, freedom, solidarity and the rule of law. We advocate for them with our colleagues from state faculties and with our male and female students, protesting for months across Serbia," say professors and associates of the Law Faculty of Union University in Belgrade.
As they add, the teachers and associates of that faculty supported all student demands and repeat that support even now.
Additionally, they point to the necessity of repealing the illegal and vindictive decrees that it passed
The government resigned in the field of higher education and strongly condemned the persecution of the rector of the University of Belgrade, Vladan Đokić.
"When it comes to the intentions of the President of the Republic, despite his belief that as a citizen and as a president he has the right of 'legislative initiative', as professors of law we point out that he is in a legal error and that he is not competent in the said area," they said in the statement.
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Extraordinary session of the High Prosecution Council
Prosecutors without protection from Vučić's pressures subscribeThe archive of the weekly Vreme includes all our digital editions, since the very beginning of our work. All issues can be downloaded in PDF format, by purchasing the digital edition, or you can read all available texts from the selected issue.
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