The Educational Union of Montenegro (PZCG) believes that the overall effects of the Montenegrin education reform "brought more harm than good" due to, as they state, continuous political employment, nepotism, corruption, mobbing, increased violence in schools and additional devaluation of the status of educators.
According to the president of that organization, Krsto Vuković, these are the conclusions of the Board of Directors of PZCG, which analyzed the effects of the 2017 education reform.
The Ministry of Education says that they respect the views of all associations of educational workers "no matter how many employees from the field of education they represent".
"However, you will allow the competent institutions to do a comprehensive evaluation and analysis of the system, which has 13.000 employees," the Ministry of Education replied to "Vijesti".
Vuković, however, claims that "the moves taken by the Ministry of Education are out of step, especially in terms of planning and implementation dynamics."
"It used to happen that at the very beginning of the school year, new programs start in schools all over Montenegro, and the immediate implementers - teachers, in the largest number know almost nothing about it. A total mess was made with the textbooks, the number of classes was reduced, as in the case of CSBH language and literature, some subjects remained the same scope, but with a reduced fund for realization with "technical" compromises with additions through class leaders and the like. From September, the fund of history, geography, biology, chemistry classes will also be reduced... In our opinion, the numerous changes were not the result of an analysis of the situation and a well-designed, carefully planned strategy, but rather the result of hasty, obviously imposed moves," Vuković points out.
He gives an example of a class book - diary:
"According to the old programs, it contained 120 pages. Such a diary as a document in the functional sense and importance for educational and pedagogical work was, in the opinion of all teachers throughout Montenegro, quite bulky, with excess sections, unnecessary statistics and requirements that significantly burdened especially class teachers. In response to persistent appeals to reduce the administration, an absurd turn of events took place - new diaries with 250 pages were made".
For PZCG, the concept and campaign "Professionalism is key" is disputed.
"According to the opinion of the current minister (Damir Šehović), chances are given to young people, domestic workforce is directed to the faltering economy, education finally has a useful value. "It's better to be a good confectioner than an average lawyer," says the minister. Excellent, but it doesn't say what price society will pay by persuading 14-year-old children to give up all developmental educational opportunities under the imperative of a trade," says Vuković.
He also points out that "it is the biggest absurdity that the state asks educators to do everything imperatively".
"And among the educators there are also numerous tenants, with an average salary below the national average, who are often mobbed, and increasingly threatened by parents and students."
Why don't they also advertise the gymnasium?
Vuković says that it is a legitimate question why the gymnasium is not advertised at the same time.
"Why was the fund for elective subjects 'massacred' and students' choices narrowed down?" Why is the abolition of classes in general education subjects hidden? For a profession? How then is it explained that, for example, chefs have chemistry, physics, three classes of mathematics, and their social sciences have been deleted", asks Vuković.
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