Montenegrin, Serbian, Bosnian and Croatian language teacher Ljiljana Milović asked the ombudsman Šućko Baković to protect her from "discrimination during employment at the Primary School "Jovan Tomašević" in Virpazar.
Milović told "Vijesta" that the director of the Virpazar school, Miodrag Šćepanović, refused to hire her, and that he stated that he should hire another teacher "among other things, because she is a black woman".
"In order to stabilize my work engagement in education, on the advice of the Educational Inspection, which carried out the supervision, a request was sent to director Šćepanović to accept me as a teacher with a norm of 18 hours," claims Milović.
In the report of the educational inspectorate, which reviewed the documentation, according to the rejected teacher, it is written that Milović "according to her professional qualifications meets the requirements of the position she intended to occupy".
"However, the official response that the director of the school in Virpazar sent to me personally is something that I did not expect, and which should not happen in an educational institution, let alone be acknowledged publicly. In response, director Šćepanović refuses to accept me for that position, with the explanation that he wants to keep another colleague in that position because she is a black woman, because there are not many black men in the school's collective," says Milović.
She also said that she turned to Ombudsman Baković because of "gross violation of human rights and discrimination".
"I used my right allowed by law to address the trade union organization in the municipality of Bar, which supported me in the struggle to exercise my rights and also recognized the gross violation of the law with such statements from the head of an educational institution," Milović said.
The director of the school, Miodrag Šćepanović, claims that he does not have to admit teacher Milović to that position:
"She has the full standard at the school in Bar, she is not redundant in that collective, so I have to accept her".
Šćepanović further states that he is very satisfied with the work of the other teacher, who currently works under a fixed-term contract at the "Jovan Tomašević" Elementary School.
"In response, the director of the school, Miodrag Šćepanović, refuses to accept me, explaining that he wants to keep another colleague in that position because she is a Crmničan, and there are not many Crmničans in the school. I did not expect that, it should not happen, let alone publicly and admit...
However, he did not answer the question regarding the official response to Milovića by remarking that the fact that the other teacher is a Crmničan obligates him to conclude a contract with her.
"It's time for him to stay working at the school, because why would someone fire an employee they're happy with," Šćepanović asks.
However, Milović claims that the director overstepped his official authority, when he "degraded both as a worker and as a person, alleging that the people of Crmnica have an advantage in employment".
"I was unofficially suggested to give up that position, because it was reserved for another teacher, which the director also confirmed with this statement," says Milović.
He reminds that it is forbidden by law to fix jobs because all candidates should be equal.
"I asked for help from all institutions that can help me solve this problem. With my work, I will continue to fight for a job in Virpazar, despite public discrimination and insults," announced Milović.
The educational inspection found no objections, Milović continues the process
In the official note of the Educational Inspection, which "Vijesti" had access to, it is stated that Milović meets all the conditions for employment.
"Ljiljana Milović, a professor, fulfills the prescribed conditions in accordance with the applicable legal regulations in terms of professional qualification, passing the professional exam for working in educational institutions to perform the duties of a professor of Montenegrin - Serbian, Bosnian and Croatian languages and literature", it is stated in the note that signed by educational inspector Zdenka Grbavčević.
Milović prepared that finding and other documentation for the ombudsman.
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