When the system crashes, children pay: The public and the elections "solved" the way to Tokyo

Talented physicists will travel to Tokyo for the International Olympiad thanks to public pressure and the fact that parliamentary elections are being held on June 11, which has further prompted politicians to engage in solving the problem. In the meantime, Montenegrin high school students and their mentors are exposed to uncertainty, and two months of work have been missed, all of which can have an impact on the results of the competition in Japan.

That's what she ordered, among other things Snezana Kaluđerović from the Center for Civic Education (CEO), commenting that four students from Montenegro qualified for the International Physics Olympiad in Tokyo in April, but the departure was questionable until the story hit the media three days ago.

"Vijesti" announced on Sunday that, although they were invited to the competition in Japan back in April, the best high school students may not be able to measure their knowledge with their peers, because the educational institutions failed in the organization. On Monday, the government already provided money for plane tickets, so they will Luka Ristanović, Jovan Janković, Andreja Popović i Vuk Curovic, when the visas are sorted out, to travel to Tokyo in July. The authorities, however, did not answer and whose responsibility is it that the issue was not resolved earlier, after the results of the national competition, which qualified the students for the international competition, were published in April. The Examination Center did not respond, and the Ministry of Education returned the ball to the Examination Center's yard...

"This case was resolved with strong public pressure, and why not mention it on the eve of the election, which immediately set the politicians in motion. However, the true picture of the system and its dysfunctionality is given by the missed time of two months for the preparation and holding of special teaching classes with the team, and someone should have organized and obliged that team to work, as well as the uncertainty in which the students and their mentors were kept. and all of which can have an impact on the results at the Olympics. For them, every day is important in preparation, as well as that these preparations are accompanied by as little additional stress as possible, but also that they feel that they have the support of the system. That's all missing here," Kaluđerović told "Vijesta".

According to her, "it is clear that carelessness for the education system prevails, as well as poor intersectoral cooperation".

"If everything was as it should be, there would be no need for public pressure from NGOs, the media and other members of the public. However, it would be important to find out all the details now and to clearly establish responsibility. Where and what went wrong? The internal procedure is known exactly and it is carried out by the Examination Center, and the funds are determined by the Ministry of Education from the budget of the Talent Support Fund, while each payment must be accompanied by the approval of the Ministry of Finance. Moving the ball from one yard to another increases the problem, and any arbitrariness and carelessness should be adequately sanctioned," she said.

Kaluđerović reminded that the Law on Amendments to the Law on General Education from June 2021 changed the status of the former Fund for Quality and Talents, which then became the Fund for Talent Support, so the funds are no longer intended for awarding individual awards under the competition "For excellent 5", are already used for other purposes. In addition to other things, funds from the Fund are now used to reward talented students, but also to support projects for the purchase of equipment, classrooms, educational kits, the organization of research camps, but also for the participation of students in international competitions...

The Ministry of Education told "Vijesta" on Monday that the budget for this year for the Fund is 115 thousand euros.