Citizens of Montenegro who tried to provide the Ministry of Education with false diplomas in the last year, most often forged educational documents from state colleges in the region.
This is shown by data from the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation, submitted to "Vijesti".
From the department he manages Anđela Jakšić Stojanović, say that the situation is much more complex when it comes to "purchased diplomas", which is why they plan to strengthen inter-institutional and regional cooperation in the coming period.
They appealed to citizens who have concrete information about suspicious diplomas to inform the state authorities and institutions - the ENIC center at the Ministry, the Police and Prosecutor's Office, so that they can verify it through international cooperation with the investigative authorities of the country from which the forgeries originate.
Most of the forgeries are from state colleges in the region
In the past year, the Ministry filed 14 criminal charges on suspicion of falsification of foreign educational documents at the level of higher education, 11 of which were allegedly obtained at public institutions of higher education in the region, and three at private ones, as well as 14 criminal charges on suspicion of falsification of foreign educational documents. certificate of secondary education level. They said that in the same period, one criminal complaint was filed due to the well-founded suspicion of falsification of the decision on the nostrification of the educational document.
It is a forgery Miljana Pavličić, until recently the assistant of the Institute of Public Health, who, in addition to falsifying certificates of completed studies, also forged the Ministry's nostrification decision more than 10 years ago, which "Vijesti" recently wrote about...
"Since 2008, since that department has been dealing with the recognition of foreign educational documents of higher education (prior to 2008, recognition and equalization was the responsibility of the University), a total of over 90 criminal charges have been filed due to suspicion of forgery," replied "News" ” from the Ministry.
They reminded that a working group was formed that deals with the verification of diplomas and that, when there is a suspicion that the diplomas are falsified, they will submit criminal charges to the authorities that are competent to make a decision in the specific case based on the attached evidence.
First they will check the state administration
The Ministry admits that it is much more difficult to examine dubious diplomas that "slipped" under the radar and found their way onto the labor market.
"The situation is much more complex when it comes to the so-called "purchased diplomas" because it is necessary to achieve strong inter-institutional cooperation between the relevant ministries, i.e. the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the competent inspection, but also the establishment of cooperation with institutions from countries where educational documents are issued. Therefore, in each specific case, it is necessary to collect evidence, compare the data on the dates of taking the exam with the dates of entry/exit to/from the country...", says the answer.
They said that they will send the Government an initiative to form an interdepartmental group that will deal with this problem and examine potentially disputed diplomas, first in the state administration and all cases for which there is a reasonable suspicion that they have been bought will be processed by the competent authorities.
The number of requests for certification of diplomas is growing
According to data from the ENIC Center, last year 6.364 people applied for the recognition of a foreign educational document in the field of higher education. That is twice as much compared to the previous three years.
"In 2019, 3.059 applications were submitted for the recognition of foreign educational documents at the level of higher education, of which 1.387 related to institutions from the territory of the Republic of Serbia or 45 percent, while 11 percent or 348 applications were for institutions from the territory of BiH", it is stated. in response.
The Ministry said that in 2020, 3.505 requests were submitted, of which 35 percent from Serbia and 11 percent from BiH, while 2021 requests for recognition of educational documents from the field of higher education were received at the address of the ENIC center in 3.046.
This year, according to the answers, 4.800 citizens submitted a request for diploma certification.
"It is important to mention that the increase in the number of requests refers to educational documents from Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, while the number of requests from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina remained at the same level," the answer reads.
They concluded that as soon as possible they will consider the possibility of changing the legal solutions that regulate this area, in terms of introducing additional mechanisms when submitting a request for the recognition of a foreign educational document.
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