Honorary Doctorate of the Prime Minister Dritan Abazović is nothing more than a sheet of paper, as can be concluded from the official response of the Ministry of Education and Science of Switzerland, submitted to "Vijesti".
The Prime Minister, however, does not answer how his Government plans to fight against dubious diplomas, if he has not yet taken responsibility for the event in Geneva - a lecture at a university that is not, but also in what way he will show the citizens that he too should bear the consequences.
The Swiss Ministry of Economic Affairs, Education and Research says that diplomas from the Swiss University of Management, Economics and Finance (Swiss UMEF University) are almost worthless in that country.
The diploma of that private, non-accredited institution is not competitive, so its graduates cannot, on the basis of it, continue their education at the local state higher education institutions, nor can they be employed in areas that are legally regulated professions.
According to the department's official answers, this institution does not have accreditation, and if it wants to be a university, it must fulfill the requirements according to the law by the end of December.
"Swiss UMEF University is a private institution that currently does not have accreditation in accordance with the Higher Education Act (HEdA). At the federal level, according to HEdA, institutional accreditation is mandatory for higher education institutions (public and private), which wish to use the reserved designations 'university', 'university of applied sciences', 'university of teacher education' and derived designations such as ' university college' or 'UAS college'. This also applies to labels in languages that are not Swiss national languages," the answers, delivered to "Vijesti" yesterday, state.
Private institutions of higher education that are not accredited, the Swiss Ministry explains, can award diplomas, but they mean almost nothing for the continuation of scientific work or employment.
"These diplomas, on the other hand, do not allow graduates to continue their studies in the public education system, nor to get a job in the fields of regulated professions. When it comes to unregulated professions, employers assess whether they will hire people with diplomas from such faculties", specified the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Education and Research of Switzerland.
And what are we going to do now?
The Government announced on Saturday afternoon that Abazović held a lecture, after which the Swiss UMEF University awarded him an honorary doctorate for leadership and contribution to the rule of law, promotion of peace and stability in the region.
A few hours later, a scientist responded Dragan Hajduković, explaining that it is not a university but a business school.
Hajduković then assessed that "acceptance of such worthless acknowledgments harms the reputation of Montenegro".
Abazović's cabinet, however, does not answer questions.
Thus, we are deprived of answers regarding whether the prime minister feels responsible for accepting the title of an institution that was not previously adequately verified, so the title turned out to be worthless, as well as why he did not return the alleged recognition, given that he comes from an institution that presents itself as a university, but has no accreditation.
The question of what kind of message this event sends from the aspect of the institutional fight against dubious diplomas, but also why the prime minister has not yet apologized to the citizens for spending their money on the trip to Geneva, remains unanswered.
There was also no answer to the question about how Abazović will show that he is aware of his moral responsibility, including his resignation.
There was no answer to the question whether this situation is proof that those responsible in the country consider that every promotion is a useful promotion, for the price, and that it damages the reputation of Montenegro.
Abazović's cabinet did not even respond to questions regarding the cost of the delegation in Geneva.
The owner of this non-accredited establishment is from Geneva Javed Sangdel, which has similar facilities in Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Nigeria.
According to the media, this is not his only business, but he is also in the business of selling cigarettes and real estate.
The local media already reported that UMEF does not have accreditation, and that students of such studies pay around 20.000 euros per year.
No answer about the call and money spent
Abazović's cabinet did not respond to their invitation to travel to Geneva.
In the photo from the awarding of the honorary doctorate to Abazović, there is also the dismissed director of the Airport of Montenegro Goran Jandreoski.
The Prime Minister's Office did not answer "News" in what capacity Jandreoski was at this event, whether he and Abazović were part of the Government delegation, and whether Jandreoski has any connections with this university, if any.
In the platform adopted by the Government at the last session, which concerns this stay, in addition to Abazović's delegation, there are also the names of two of his media advisors, Miloš Perišić and Radivoje Koprivić.
Jandreoski was fired at the beginning of August, unofficially due to non-fulfillment of obligations from his program.
The president's office did not answer the question regarding the money spent by citizens for this trip.
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