The Center for Civic Education (CEO) believes that it is unacceptable for the administration of the University of Montenegro (UCG) to shut down three key study programs at the Faculty of Political Sciences, said program associate Mira Popović.
"Precisely those three programs - journalism, international relations and European studies - form the base of all faculties of political sciences in the region and beyond, and they define the Faculty of Political Sciences of the UCG in terms of content and substance, for which it was founded," said Popović.
She added that she would CGO always welcome the efforts of the management of UCG in the direction of reforms that would lead to the improvement of the quality of higher education, and these processes are especially important in order to meet the (re)accreditation of UCG that follows in 2017.
"However, reforms require a systemic approach, based on serious analyzes and broad consultations with experts and the interested public. Unfortunately, in the case of the announced changes at the FPN, this was absent and therefore the revolt of the students and part of the teaching staff who have integrity to publicly oppose the arbitrary decision-making of the UCG administration. The UCG administration did not clearly and reasonedly explain to the academic or wider public the reasons for the attempt to shut down the three majors and the planned transformation of the FPN. Additionally, although the Council for Higher Education is required by law, since its establishment , did not perform the ranking of higher education institutions, nor the categorization and ranking of study programs within university units in relation to the needs of the labor market, so study programs cannot be closed or established without these assessments," said Popović.
"A number of additional questions also arise: did the management of UCG analyze the supply and demand relationships for these professions before concluding that these three study programs should be closed; which experts in political science, domestic and international, proposed solutions to close the mentioned majors at the FPN in; who are the members of the working group or commission that assessed this issue and on the basis of which criteria were they selected; did FPN students and teachers participate in the dialogue on the termination of study programs and if not, who excluded them; what will be the value of the previously acquired diplomas of the courses that are planned to be discontinued," said Popović.
Popović said that vit is worth reminding that FPN was systematically collapsed through the negative selection of teaching staff, through the marginalization of those staff who acquired educational references in political sciences, and especially if they were not to the liking of the management of UCG, through the spontaneous cancellation of the engagement of visiting professors and the absence of a development strategy for this faculty unit.
Popović added that today we are witnessing the attempt of the last blows to shut down the FPN, especially bearing in mind that majors that are needed and that other universities do not have are being shut down, while those that exist at other universities and are still fighting an uncertain battle for positioning on the market are being opened of work.
"The process of merging individual study programs or opening new ones at the state university requires a serious analysis of knowledge providers and the needs of the labor market, a strategic approach, a long period of time, the creation of conditions for students to acquire quality knowledge as well as practice, and any hasty solution leads to a further lowering of the otherwise low the level of quality of the education system in Montenegro, the brain drain, the production of bad and often unnecessary personnel, the decline of trust in the institution of education and the well-cleared path for private competition," concluded Popović.
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