"I will do it just so that it will be their first reason for shooting when they win the elections," said the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić announcing that before the end of the mandate, he will reform the education system and enable the arrival foreign universities in Serbia.
In his interpretation, it is a move that would bring local students free and high-quality education. In the academic community, however, such announcements cause more questions than answers, since for now no one knows exactly what is in store, except that the progressive government is trying with all its might to bring state universities under its control and abolish their autonomy.
It is not known which universities would come to Serbia, under what conditions they would work, whether they would have to go through the accreditation process as domestic institutions, or how they would be financed. It is not even known whether this is an attempt at promotion higher education or about a new political confrontation with universities that have been under attack by the authorities for more than a year and a half.
An old idea, but no known new details
The rector of the University of Arts, Mirjana Nikolić, reminds "Vreme" that the idea is not new. He says that at the end of 2024, when the Minister of Education was Slavica Đukić Dejanović, there were attempts to change the Law on Higher Education.
"There was an attempt to change the law by introducing a new article that was supposed to enable the arrival of foreign universities that would not be accredited and that would be financed from the budget. That was immediately after the fall of the canopy. That change was then abandoned," says Nikolić.
Photo: FoNet/Ognjen StevanovićWhy are universities in Serbia bothering Vučić so much?
Now, however, the same idea is coming back through the president's story about liberalizing the higher education market and more choice for students. She says that she is particularly bothered by the part where Vučić talks about "free and quality programs".
"In Serbia, we already have free programs for budget students. There is free study for the best students, and there is also co-financing of students. Another thing, does this mean that the president expresses doubts about the quality of higher education? The University of Belgrade is among the best in the world. Does this mean that the president thinks that, despite this, it is not good enough for students?", asks Nikolić.
No concrete information, for now
For the academic community, the problem is not the very idea of international competition. The problem is that there is no concrete information behind the political announcements.
"We don't know which universities will come, who will teach at them, whether professors from those universities will come, in which language the classes will be held. If some third-rate universities will come, what is the purpose? There are many questions. We are not afraid of competition, but there are many unknowns," says Nikolić.
The dean of the Faculty of Teacher Education in Belgrade, Denimir Mandić, speaks similarly. He also has no information about what the government means by the reform of higher education.
"We don't know in what sense the reforms are going, in what way. We have heard that there is an announcement," Mandić told "Vreme".
According to his opinion, higher education needs reforms, but not necessarily those that the president of the state is talking about.
"It would be more significant if higher education were reformed in the methods of work, the organization of teaching, the method of evaluating knowledge. It is necessary to significantly change the methods of work, especially with the development of artificial intelligence and technological changes," he believes.
Nor does Mandić see a problem in the arrival of foreign universities if they are of higher quality than local ones and if they are subject to the same rules.
"We have nothing against the arrival of foreign universities if they are ranked better than ours and if they pass accreditation. We are not afraid of good competition, but the question is whether that is the intention," he says.
What will the rules be?
The issue of accreditation is the key point of dispute. Dean of the Faculty of Chemistry, Dejan Roglić, reminds that the previous attempt to amend the law provided for a privileged position for foreign universities.
"Our position is very clear: we have nothing against foreign universities if they go through the accreditation procedure that we go through. That was our only condition last time as well. The previous proposal meant that they go with a special permit from the Ministry, without accreditation," Roglić reminds "Vreme".
He warns of another illogicality.
"I don't know who is in the interest of bringing in new universities in a situation where we cannot fill state or private universities. The question is which universities he plans to bring and according to what criteria," says Roglić.
According to him, it is unlikely that the world's most prestigious institutions would be interested in opening a campus in Serbia.
"I am convinced that the universities that are ahead of Belgrade University on the list are not interested in coming," he says.
Photo: FoNet/Ognjen StevanovićGraffiti against student blockades on the Rectorate building of the University of Belgrade
What exactly did Vučić say?
On Sunday, the country's president, Aleksandar Vučić, announced changes in the education system, as something he will do before he resigns.
"Before I resign, I will do my best to secure a majority in the Assembly to change the education system in Serbia, especially the higher education system. I want us to have competition, so that children who have less money can study at universities that are better than many of ours. And we will improve ours. I will make it pass through the Assembly, just in case they shoot me when they win, so that they have a reason," said Vučić in a guest appearance on TV Prva.
Is this a new attack on the university?
Since the student revolt began, all levels of education have come under attack from the government. It was felt most strongly in higher education, and government representatives often express their own confrontations with university leaders.
They are helped in this by the regime's tabloids, which carry out slander campaigns.
Vučić's new statement caused a reaction not only from the domestic, but also from the foreign public.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić wants to change the law on higher education, which is an announcement of an offensive against the student movement, and the main goal is to break the support provided by state universities to the struggle of students for the rule of law, writes the Austrian national agency APA.
The agency writes that Vučić accused the protesters of "leading a colored revolution" and that, in an interview with Prva television, which is "close to the authorities", he said that he would do everything in his power to win a parliamentary majority to amend the Law on Education, and above all on higher education.
"Vučić did not specify exactly what the reform should look like. He said that he intends to enable children from weaker socio-economic strata to access better universities. According to a study by the Center for Ranking World Universities (CWUR), the University of Belgrade is now ranked 387th among the best universities in the world," writes APA.
Noting that Vučić's plan is feasible given the majority of his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and its coalition partners in the parliament, APA adds that "Vučić probably wants to break the resistance of state universities, which since 2024 have supported students in their fight for the rule of law."
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