Educational institutions failed: The best physicists don't go to Tokyo?

Although they were invited to the International Olympiad in Physics in Tokyo in April, the best high school students may not be able to measure their knowledge with their peers because the educational institutions have failed in the organization.

The four best Montenegrin physicists - Luka Ristanović, Jovan Janković, Andreja Popović i Vuk Curovic, were informed at the beginning of April that they will represent the country at the competition in Japan in July.

"I congratulate you on the results you achieved at the State Competition. Based on your results, you have qualified to participate in the 53rd International Physics Olympiad, which will be held in Tokyo from July 10 to 17. A professor from UCG and a representative of the Examination Center will go with you to the internship... I will inform you about the organization of the trip, preparation for the competition, and the necessary documents after you have confirmed your studies," reads the email that the students received from the representative of the Examination Center. center on April 7.

Iz Ministry of Education yesterday they announced that they have considered the request Examination center:

"As in previous similar situations, the Ministry respects the law that mandates a strict and strict procedure when it comes to the allocation of funds. The Ministry of Education will do everything in our power, in accordance with the law, so that the best students go to the Physics Olympiad".

In the notice of April 7, it was clarified that the host of the competition bears the costs of accommodation and food, and the Montenegrin educational institutions bear the costs of travel, visa, membership fees and health insurance.

As there was no additional information regarding the organization of the trip, the students' parents recently contacted the Examination Center, asking for answers to their questions regarding the upcoming International Competition by the end of May.

In the correspondence, which "Vijesti" had access to, the parents warned the authorities that the competition had been received, and that the deadlines for obtaining visas had expired.

A cold shower followed - the authorities replied to the parents that "it is not possible to organize the departure of the team".

"The current price of an airline ticket is around 2.600 euros per person, which is around 16.000 euros for the tickets alone. For the said Olympiad, it is necessary to issue visas for the participants, so the organizer requested that the necessary information be submitted, including ticket reservations. The Ministry of Education wanted to support the team's trip to the Olympics by paying a certain amount for the purchase of plane tickets. However, airline tickets can only be purchased in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Public Procurement", the answer to parents states.

According to the authorities, the whole process would take a month or more, and the purchase of airline tickets could only be carried out at the end of June.

"... And then it is questionable how much the price will be and whether there will be any at all, and the issuance of visas is limited by the deadline. Due to all of the above, it is not possible to comply with the requests of the organizers. Please note that the Examination Center has contacted the organizer about the possibility of online participation of the Montenegrin team in that Olympiad and we are expecting a response", reads the email to the parents of the best Montenegrin physicists among high school students.

The authorities' response was circulated on social networks yesterday, and some parents of the students spoke up, stating that they were only informed two days ago about the outcome of the planned trip to the competition, that the children had been deceived.

Numerous teachers also condemned the fact that there was no adequate reaction from the institutions.