One of the key problems of the Montenegrin education system is the fact that for years the teaching staff has been employed according to the political key, which is why it is much easier to manipulate such teachers, according to "Vijesti" interlocutors.
At the end of August, the editors published a questionnaire, the aim of which was to examine the views of citizens on whether and to what extent politics endangers education in Montenegro.
241 citizens responded to the questionnaire, of which more than a third - 201 are of the opinion that the education system is politically colored, 33 that it is not, while seven did not express their opinion.
According to the data from the questionnaire, more than a third - 87 citizens who answered the questions of "Vijesti" are educators.
When asked if they had heard or experienced that in the education system politics was above the profession, educators mentioned the method of employment as the most common cases, but also pressure from superiors and parents when it comes to student grades.
"It can be clearly seen from the recruitment of staff: the staff strictly comes from the party to which the director belongs. Employment, I was not recognized... A good educator is always on the margins of society, such a person does not fit this corrupt and politicized society. Several years ago, I was forced by work to vote for a certain political structure", are just some of the responses of some educators.
President of the Education Union Radomir Božović says that this labor organization has been warning about the problem of political employment for years.
"Most often, it was based on the principle of 'he/she was recognized by the field,' as some officials said a few years ago. When we do not have clear criteria for employment, it often happens that "the field recognizes" bad students, who have studied for a long time, have a lower average, and they stay at our employment offices or work as substitutes or wait for years for decisions on unspecified quality people, who are were great students who love their profession", said Božović.
The Association of Parents warns that political suitability is often a recommendation, but does not guarantee quality.
"We know that it happened, and it is something that educators have repeatedly pointed out publicly.
And it was not only the political appointment of directors, but also those who work in schools. We know that many capable people applied who knows how many times to different ads, but they did not manage to get a job precisely because the politically eligible had more opportunities and possibilities", the director of the Parents Association told "Vijesti" Kristina Mihailović.
NO ATTACHMENT OUT OF GRATITUDE TO THE DIRECTOR
Božović warns that there were numerous situations where those who were employed thanks to party, family or friendship principles were "extremely grateful to the director".
"...And then they simply don't have a clear position on many issues. In other words, they have an attitude - it should be the way the director thinks and says," specified Božović.
In this way, according to him, the freedom of opinion of the employees is killed, as well as the freedom of decision.
"We had a situation where certain colleagues were employed on a fixed-term basis for years, and the directors practically exhausted them, but also conditioned them in some way, so when they gave them a solution for an indefinite period, they imposed it on them as if they had given them something of their own, personally , as if they were in debt for their entire lives, which is why they always have to be with these directors", explains Božović.
Mihailović also agrees that the consequences of political employment are numerous and severe.
According to her, the principals who employed teachers, thereby doing them a favor, give themselves the right to later influence that educator and to change the grades of individual students.
"Teachers can easily be influenced to change their grades, and in this way their authority is undermined, but it also sends a bad message to children. How?
So it happened that someone who was employed by a political key was a much easier target for any kind of pressure. When a grade is given that does not suit the child and the parent, when this is pointed out to the teacher and when there is an insistence on increasing the grade, then even after a negative response from the teacher, it happened that due to pressure, influence and various connections, but also using the influence of the management, that is, school principals, the parents eventually manage to change the grades. It's one hell of a ride," Mihailović assessed.
ONLY THE RESULTS TO BE A RECOMMENDATION
Božović emphasizes that the Education Union has been pointing out for years that it is necessary to systematically change the way of employment in education. "We believe that hiring workers without any criteria is not and cannot be good. We witnessed that there was abuse and that it was not decided by the criteria of expertise, but by others. We had years to see what such a system brought us - nothing good. That is why we propose to introduce measurable criteria for the employment of educators. So that one of the criteria should be the average grade from the faculty, the length of study, for example,... Therefore, to introduce criteria that measure knowledge and results, and not to leave everything to commissions formed by directors", said Božović. The system, he emphasizes, must measure what someone has learned, what he knows and what his qualities are.
"And not that the teacher carries a feeling of eternal gratitude to the one who gave him the solution indefinitely. If we employ fewer quality workers, the entire education system loses. Pupils lose, the school loses reputation and quality. Our position is that in this way - with measurable criteria, we would be able to influence the suppression of poor quality. This would only benefit society," concluded Božović.
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