The governing bodies of "Montefarm" should explain to the public how and in what way they spend the funds of the citizens of Montenegro, as well as which plan stipulates that private pharmacy studies for employees in another country can be paid for from that budget.
This is what the senior legal adviser at the Center for Civic Education (CGO) assessed for "Vijesti". Snezana Kaluđerović.
"It would be interesting to know what quality criteria the Faculty of Pharmacy in Bijeljina used to recommend that employees be directed to the same and that they be paid a tuition fee of 1.300 euros, instead of, say, the one that is already financed from the budget in Montenegro and where perhaps could also study for free. What kind of staff quality can be expected from those who received diplomas from the Faculty of Pharmacy in Bijeljina, while simultaneously working in Podgorica?", said Kaluđerović.
She pointed out that it is clear to the layman that pharmacy cannot be completed in such a way as to really acquire some useful knowledge through the online system and along the way, because it is a field of medicine that is very demanding to study and requires dedication, as well as a lot of direct relationship with professors and exercises performed at the faculty.
"It is also strange that the director of 'Montefarm' did not decide to strengthen and support the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Montenegro and motivate students to be an institution for performing practical work whose employees they will be in the future, or to provide additional scholarships to students who are already funded by the state. Instead, he chooses to discredit the state university. The question is also raised, did this open the door for discrimination against Montenegrin pharmacy students at UCG who regularly and directly attend their studies?", said Kaluđerović.
She also assessed that one gets the impression that it is about the naked interest of the management of the Faculty of Pharmacy in Bijeljina and "Montefarma", which should also professionally interest some state authorities.
"As well as the State Audit Institution to conduct a thorough audit of the operations of this public company. Of course, those who proposed and appointed the management of 'Montefarm' are also responsible for this, so it would be good if we now also hear their position", concluded Kaluđerović.
Ministry of Education: UCG pharmacy adapted to the labor market
Commenting on the fact that the public institution instructs its employees that they can study at the University of Bijeljina and announces that they will cover part of the study costs, the Ministry of Education said that they are continuously working to improve the quality of higher education in Montenegro for qualifications that are recognized on the Montenegrin labor market. They also said that the University of Montenegro (UCG) is a renowned institution of higher education that has trained experts in the fields of medicine, pharmacy, dentistry and physiotherapy.
"UCG is the oldest and largest higher education institution in Montenegro. It was founded in 1974, and today it consists of 19 faculties and two institutes. The Faculty of Medicine in Podgorica is a scientific-teaching unit within the University of Montenegro, where five study programs are implemented (medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, applied physiotherapy and the medical school). The Pharmacy study program, accredited in 2007, is an integrated study program with clearly defined and internationally comparable learning outcomes in the European area of higher education, adapted to the contemporary needs of society and the labor market," states the response of the Ministry of Education, which it manages. Miomir Vojinović.
They said that the choice of study is certainly up to future students, but also the decision about whether they want to study at prestigious universities, highly ranked on international rankings, while it is up to employers whether they will value a qualification obtained at a public or private institution of higher education more.
"In the future, the Ministry of Education will continue to create an environment in which higher education will be available to all, which we have demonstrated by introducing free studies to all undergraduate and master's students," the ministry concluded.
On the other hand, the Ministry of Health did not advertise regarding the letter by which the management of "Montefarm" directs employees to study pharmacy in Bijeljina.
ODT is still investigating fake pharmacists and dentists
The Podgorica Basic State Prosecutor's Office (ODT) is still investigating whether and how many fake pharmacists and dentists there are in Montenegro, based on an anonymous criminal complaint about the possible existence of forged diplomas from countries in the region.
"I am informing you that the mentioned case is in the investigation process, and that evidentiary actions are being taken in the process in order to determine all the circumstances of the mentioned event," the head of the ODT told "Vijesta" Dusko Milanović.
Minister without portfolio Zoran Miljanic in March of this year, he told "Vijesta" that an anonymous criminal complaint was forwarded to him from the Faculty of Medicine in Podgorica about the possible existence of falsified diplomas in dentistry and pharmacy from the countries of the region.
He said that he forwarded the anonymous report to the Supreme State Prosecutor's Office, which, as "Vijesti" replied, forwarded it to the Podgorica ODT.
"I hope that the prosecutor's office 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 falsified nursing diplomas, 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.
At the time, the Faculty of Medicine of the UCG said that there was an increased influx of graduates from faculties from the surrounding area, which "may be the cause of inflation in the quality of education, and thus the health care provided in Montenegro."
They pointed out that there will be an increased flow of diplomas from private universities in the region from 2020 onwards.
"Especially a diploma from the 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 in Bosnia and Herzegovina and from faculties for senior nurses from Serbia (schools in Zemun and Belgrade)," said the administration of the Faculty of Medicine.
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.
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