They solved the trip to Tokyo, but not who is to blame for the delay

The four best Montenegrin physicists - Luka Ristanović, Jovan Janković, Andreja Popović i Vuk Curovic are traveling to Tokyo, where they will participate in the International Physics Olympiad, the Government decided yesterday in an electronic session.

However, the authorities did not answer and whose responsibility is it that the issue was not resolved earlier, since April, when the results of the national competition that qualified the students for Japan were announced.

The Examination Center did not respond to the questions of "Vijesti", and the Ministry of Education referred the editorial office to the Examination Center when asked why the tender for plane tickets had not yet been announced and the procedure for obtaining visas had been initiated.

From the department of the minister in the technical mandate Miomir Vojinović yesterday they only said that the amendments to the General Law on Education in 2021 created the Talent Support Fund, and that the funds from the Fund, among other things, are used for the participation of students in international competitions. As they said, so far 13.417 euros have been paid from the Fund for students who won prizes at national and international competitions.

"For the Fund, the budget for this year provides 115 thousand euros. Currently, there is 101.583 euros in the account," said the Ministry of Education, adding that the Ministry of Education "will always support talented students, as it has done so far."

"Vijesti" announced yesterday that, although they were invited to the International Olympiad in Physics in Tokyo in April, the best high school students may not measure their knowledge with their peers because the educational institutions failed in the organization. The four best Montenegrin physicists were informed at the beginning of April that they will represent the country at a competition in Japan in July, and that they will be accompanied by professors from the University of Montenegro and a representative of the Examination Center...

"I will inform you about the organization of the trip, preparation for the competition, and the necessary documents after you have confirmed your participation," reads the email the students received from the Examination Center representative on April 7.

In that notification, it was also clarified that the host of the competition bears the costs of accommodation and food, and the Montenegrin educational institutions bear the costs of travel, visas, membership fees and health insurance.

The Examination Center did not make any further announcements, until the parents of the students contacted them recently. Then they were told by the Examination Center that "there is no possibility to organize the departure of the team", that the current price of the plane ticket is about 2.600 euros per person, and that for the Montenegrin team at that price, about 16.000 euros should be allocated.

"For the mentioned Olympiad, it is necessary to issue visas for the participants, so the organizer requested that the necessary information be submitted, among other things, 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", it says in the reply to parents.

On Sunday, the Department of Education said that they had considered the request of the Examination Center and that "the Ministry respects the law that mandates a strict and strict procedure when it comes to determining funds."

In connection with the problem of the participation of Montenegrin students in the competition in Japan, the authorities were approached by the Center for Civic Education (CGO). They are to the Prime Minister Dritan Abazović and the Minister of Education referred to the Initiative for the urgent provision of funds and implementation of the procedure for the departure of the contestants to Tokyo.

Abazović announced yesterday on the Telegram network that the problem has been resolved and that students and professors are traveling to Japan. It was not clarified how the funds were provided, but he thanked the Minister of Economic Development, a party colleague (URA), Goran Đurović, to the Minister of Education, to the Minister of Science Biljani Šćepanović and businessmen.

"The government will quickly implement the procedures, and the MFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) will help with obtaining visas," he wrote.

The fund from which cash prizes are awarded to the best students and teachers was formed in 2018, during the mandate Damir Šehović, as the Quality and Talent Fund. In 2021, the Law on Amendments to the Law on General Education was adopted, which, "for the purpose of supporting talented primary and secondary school students", provided for the formation of the Talent Support Fund.

popular voice

Mirjana Lilic, pensioner

I think that the state has recognized talented students, there are also many awards given to students. The newly elected president Jakov Milatović it forces, so I hope that it will contribute to that, that all young people who are extraordinary and of above average intelligence, contribute to the betterment of our country.

Matija Stojanović, lawyer

As we have seen, there are more and more actions at the University to reward UCG students, but other universities also constantly have actions to encourage young people. What should be the reward for every young talent is a job in the profession and the opportunity to do exactly what God gave him and what he has talent for.

Dragan Komatina, professor of architecture

"In our society, a talented person is really neglected in a, in my opinion, discriminatory manner. As a rule, every country should nurture a talented person: to finance and invest in him, for the economy to invest in him, and that, as you know, is certainly not the case in our country.

Vaselj Dušaj,Secretariat for social welfare

The state does not recognize talented people as much as it should, as these young talents and good students deserve. I guess things are getting better now, so the time will come for them to be better accepted and appreciated by society.