For medicine and fillings from fake doctors?

Podgorica Basic State Prosecutor's Office determines whether and how many fake pharmacists and dentists there are in Montenegro.

"News" is from the institution he manages Dusko Milanović confirmed that the reconnaissance is in progress.

"We inform you that the criminal case, established in connection with the alleged falsification of diplomas, based on the criminal report submitted to the Supreme State Prosecutor's Office by the Minister Zoran Miljanic, findings are in the process of reconnaissance", was answered from the Podgorica ODT.

Miljanić: If it is true, we are in a big problem

Minister without portfolio Zoran Miljanić told "Vijesta" that an anonymous criminal complaint was forwarded to him from the Faculty of Medicine in Podgorica about the possible existence of forged diplomas in dentistry and pharmacy from the countries of the region.

Miljanić said that he forwarded the anonymous report to the Supreme State Prosecutor's Office, which, as they answered to "Vijesti", submitted it to the Podgorica ODT for processing.

"I hope that the prosecution will consider the allegations from that report as soon as possible, because if what is written is true, we are in a big problem. After the forged ones degree in nursing, and in the police, we came to a situation where we are treated by dentists who are not dentists, and the therapy is dispensed by pharmacists who are not," said Miljanić.

He expects prosecutors to take the issue seriously.

"And that they will prosecute those who treat the citizens and Montenegrin healthcare without respect," said Miljanić.

Inflow from private faculties from BiH and Serbia

The Faculty of Medicine of the University of Montenegro (UCG) says that the influx of graduates from faculties from the surrounding area has increased, which "may be the cause of inflation in the quality of education, and thus the health care provided in Montenegro."

"Is there any doubt about the diplomas from the mentioned institutions, this faculty was not in possession of such information in the procedure so far, which in any case may be of importance for other institutions of the system", the institution replied to "Vijesta".

They point out that there will be an increased flow of diplomas from private universities in the region from 2020 onwards.

"Especially a diploma from private faculties of Bosnia and Herzegovina (from Travnik, Mostar, Tuzla, Brčko, more recently Goražde), as well as from Serbia, which are mostly nursing schools from Belgrade (for example, the High Medical School of Vocational Studies "Milutin Milanković ” in Belgrade, High Health and Sanitary School of Vocational Studies “Visan” in Belgrade), then from the private Faculty of Pharmacy from Novi Sad, University of the Academy of Commerce in Novi Sad...

"More diplomas, convincingly, come from private faculties from Bosnia and Herzegovina and from faculties for senior nurses from Serbia (schools in Zemun and Belgrade)", specified the administration of the Faculty of Medicine.

The Ministry of Education, on the other hand, could not answer how many diplomas from all branches of medicine were certified in the previous four years, with special reference to educational documents that come from the environment. They promised to prepare answers to our questions after obtaining the relevant information.

"Colleagues have started to search the complete archive for the requested years, after which we will provide answers to the questions. Since the eDMS system was damaged as a result of hacker attacks on the Government's IT infrastructure, we do not have this data in electronic form, i.e. the database, but it is necessary to physically search the complete archive for the specified period", explained the department. Miomir Vojinović.

Procedure for recognition of a diploma in the field of healthcare

The Faculty of Medicine also explained the procedures for recognizing diplomas in the field of medicine, which were obtained outside the borders of Montenegro.

"The Ministry of Education recognizes (verifies) diplomas from abroad, after which candidates submit a request to the Faculty of Medicine for equalization of qualifications.

The procedure for recognition of a foreign diploma of primary, secondary (general or professional) and higher professional education, for the purpose of employment, is initiated at the request of the holder of the document, and the request is submitted to the Ministry of Education. After the recognition procedure, the obtained diploma from the competent Ministry, the party addresses the Faculty of Medicine in order to equalize the qualifications of the level of education for those programs that are implemented as a comparable educational program", explained the Faculty of Medicine.

The Faculty of Medicine, they state, carries out the procedure of equating qualifications in accordance with the Law on Recognition of Foreign Educational Documents and Equalization of Qualifications, based on the authority of the University of Montenegro.

"Equating the foreign qualification of the level of education with the qualification of the level of education in Montenegro is a detailed comparison of the foreign qualification with the corresponding qualification, which is obtained at the Faculty of Medicine, based on the qualification standards. The Commission for Equalization of Qualifications is an expert body of the faculty made up of renowned professors from various fields of the teaching staff of the Faculty of Medicine. The committee with an expert in legal affairs is considering submitting the party's request and the attached documentation for the equalization of qualifications, and valuing the compatibility of the study programs, and based on the occupational standards, makes a proposal on the equalization or non-equalization of the foreign educational document," said the Faculty of Medicine.

Universities under investigation in BiH also have pharmacy and dentistry

The Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in cooperation with the State Agency for Investigation and Protection (SIPA), launched the operation "Cluster", in which more than 10 people from several private institutions of higher education were arrested in February, suspected of the criminal acts of illegal distribution and sale university degrees.

Bosnian media reports that the investigation is being conducted against the Independent University of Banjaluka (NUBL), the University of Business Studies (UPS) Banjaluka, the European University in Brčko, the University of Travnik, the International University of Travnik, as well as the College of Applied and Legal Sciences "Prometheus" from Banja Luka.

The University of Travnik and the European University in Brčko have faculties that train health personnel.

The University of Travnik has a Faculty of Pharmacy and Health with several study programs, including dentistry and pharmacy. The situation is the same with the European University in Brčko, which has these programs at the Faculty of Health Sciences.

The Prosecutor's Office of BiH previously announced that several workers and high-ranking officials of university and college institutions in BiH were detained as part of the operation, and money originating from illegal activities was confiscated.