Two candidates for teaching assistants at the Faculty of Law of the University of Montenegro (UCG) submitted objections to the competition of that university unit, "unsatisfied with the way of communication and questions during the oral interview".
This was confirmed by the UCG Rectorate to "Vijesti" yesterday.
One of the complaints was filed by a teaching assistant Milena Aćimić Remiković, also refers to the fact that certain members of the commission allegedly asked questions of a daily political nature.
Yesterday, the Faculty of Law replied to "Vijesti" that they were informed about the objections by the Legal Service of the Rectorate and said that they "strongly reject all insinuations about possible discrimination when deciding on the subject of the competition, in terms of political, national, religious or any other affiliation".
Yesterday, UCG replied to the "News" that by yesterday afternoon they had received two objections, as well as documentation from the Faculty of Law, on the basis of which they concluded that during the competition procedure, the institute of interviews of registered candidates whose applications were timely and complete was applied.
"In the objection to the decision in question, the candidates expressed their dissatisfaction with the way of communication and the questions asked during the interview, pointing out that a number of questions were of a daily political nature, and one of the candidates pointed out that he felt threatened by the questions asked by the members of the Commission," he writes. in the response of the UCG Rectorate.
Aćimić Remiković: Discriminated on the basis of nationality
In the objection of the candidate Aćimić Remiković, which "Vijesti" had access to, it is stated that, allegedly, the decisive element for the selection of the candidate was the point list that was made after the interview by the competition committee, which is not prescribed by the rules, nor required by the text of the advertisement.
She said that she will seek her rights regarding this situation in court, and initiate proceedings before the Ethics Committee.
"The report was not submitted to the Council of the Faculty of Law within 15 days, which is provided for in paragraph 7 of Article 104 of the Statute of the UCG, but with a considerable delay of about a month.... After receiving the decision and the competition documentation that I will request from the faculty, I will file a lawsuit to the competent court," the complaint reads.
Aćimić Remiković claims in his complaint that one of the members of the Commission, whom he claims is a "member of a political party", allegedly asked whether boycotting the census is a human right, that is, an internationally guaranteed right to resistance, stating, among other things, that he "doesn't know what is a more current topic than this one, that they want to change our blood count..."
"I emphasize that at that moment I felt threatened, scared, belittled. The pressure was particularly pronounced, bearing in mind that a decision was being made about the position that I approached with great enthusiasm in the last two years", she stated in the objection of the UCG. He also claims that allegedly one of the members of the Commission asked "what does the list have to do with what we are doing..."
Aćimić Remiković also pointed out that she "deeply believes that her 'inadequate' answers were of crucial importance for the outcome of the competition, which means that I was discriminated against on political and national grounds".
"Unfortunately, it seems that still in Montenegro, and even more regrettably, in our academic community, young and promising people freed from political and nationalist shackles are not welcome," the candidate claims in her complaint.
Faculty of Law: Questions from the candidate's scientific and professional work
The Faculty of Law states that the competition was announced on September 22, and the procedure ended on November 3, when the dean Aneta Spaić made a legally final decision on the admission of candidates.
According to the Faculty of Law, the decision was forwarded to the UCG Rectorate on the same day. They also state that the Commission was formed from regular professors.
"And that is the discipline in which candidates for associates are also selected, with the exception of the professor of Criminal Law, who holds the title of associate professor, due to the fact that the regular professor from that department is also the parent of one of the applicants. The interview is a procedure of direct assessment of the quality, pedagogical and other tendencies of the candidates. Since the beginning of the mandate of this faculty administration, the interview has existed as an integral part, which significantly helps in the selection of candidates", the answers state.
That university unit claims that "all the questions asked during the interview stemmed from the candidate's scientific and professional work".
"Since several candidates during their oral presentation and/or in their CV, and/or in their application, expressed an interest in current legal and legal-political topics, we do not consider the Commission's interest in these issues to be disputed. All candidates were asked par excellence legal questions. And all the candidates in their answers adhered to legal argumentation or refrained from answering, which the Commission judged to be legitimate. We strongly reject all insinuations about possible discrimination during decision-making... The decision will be delivered to all candidates within the legal deadline", they said.
Rectorate without a statement on the content of the complaint
Yesterday, the UCG Rectorate replied to "Vijesti" that the candidates in their objection to the decision expressed dissatisfaction with the way of communication and the questions asked during the interview, stressing that a number of the questions were of a daily political nature. They also said that one of the candidates pointed out that he felt threatened by the questions asked by the members of the Commission.
The Rectorate clarified that Article 75 of the Law on Higher Education stipulates that a teaching associate can be a master's student who has completed basic or specialist studies with the lowest average grade of B (8,50), a doctoral student, or a doctoral student who has completed a master's studies with the same lowest average grade and a person who obtained the scientific title of Doctor of Science. They explained that contracts with persons who are selected on the basis of a public competition, which is announced by the institution in accordance with the statute, are concluded for a period of one year, but not longer than four years, with associates who are doctoral students for a period of three years and not longer than seven years, while the contract with an associate who has obtained the scientific title of Doctor of Science is concluded for a period of up to five years.
They also said that a teaching associate cannot independently conduct theoretical classes, examine and evaluate students.
"The mentioned provision of the Law is elaborated in the Statute of the UCG, and in Article 105, paragraph 1 of that general act, it is decisively stated what is taken into account as a criterion, in addition to the achieved success during studies, when choosing teaching assistants (shown inclination for teaching and scientific research work, i.e. artistic work; length of study and awards for success in studies)", concluded the Rectorate in their response to "News".
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