The abolition of the state financial injection to private faculties, as well as the prescription of unique criteria for selection into academic titles, which is one of the key conditions for the establishment of new and reaccreditation of existing private institutions, are unacceptable for their representatives.
Objections to the norms, provided for in the Draft Law on Higher Education, were announced yesterday during the central public hearing by several representatives of the private sector in education. Proposals were also heard that one regulation should be valid for them, and that a separate regulation be made for the state university.
Dean of the Faculty of State and European Studies from Podgorica (FDES), Djordje Blažić he said that for him as a lawyer, the term private faculty is unacceptable, because "education is an area of public importance" and cannot be demarcated into private and state sectors.
"For years, the relevant authorities did not lift a finger to provide funding for students, and suddenly now the state does not need to finance our children. I, as a pedagogue, do not want to take part in that", said Blažić during the discussion.
According to him, private faculties could end up in a situation where "we cancel the right of students who were ten years old and which was never implemented".
"It is unacceptable that funding for students is cut off, I even think it should be increased." Determine that education is of public interest and then cancel the right to funding", said Blažić.
Representative of the private University "Adriatik", Vinko Nikić he said that private faculties should be financed.
"I am the owner of a faculty that does not exist at the University of Montenegro, and who is the one who can say that it should not be funded? When it comes to traffic, when was the last time we produced a traffic engineer? Back in the days of Yugoslavia", said Nikić, representative of the Faculty of Traffic, Communication and Logistics of the University "Adriatik".
He said that it is less important who is the founder of the educational institution, and that it is much more important that some area is of public interest.
Bosniak: That we educate in the world, but that they return
"Vijesti" recently wrote that the draft law, in addition to abolishing the financing of private educational institutions, also provides that the members of the Council for Higher Education are elected by the Parliament of Montenegro for a period of four years, and the new competences of that body concern the conditions for selection into academic positions, which has been a frequent complaint of the professional public until now.
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Former Vice President of the Assembly Branka Bosniak she said that the Council for Higher Education should have greater competences and that until now it has not been particularly important.
"On whose proposal these members are appointed, it is not written anywhere, and it is very debatable because someone can come to the Assembly with a ticket and propose someone. It must be defined who nominates people for the Council", Bošnjak said.
Referring to the possibility of financing students at prestigious world universities, Bošnjak said that "it is correct that we do not finance private faculties from the state budget, but rather give scholarships to students who graduate from deficit faculties.
"I am in favor of binding such students by law, not by a by-law, because the by-law is less powerful and less binding, and that there are no penal provisions, but that they return and make their contribution to the country if Montenegro already finances them" , she pointed out.
Bošnjak also emphasized that the University of Montenegro's spending of money must be more transparent.
Institutions of higher education, according to the Draft, cannot obtain initial accreditation, nor a work permit, if, among other things, they have not provided academic staff, elected to an academic position according to the regulations of Montenegro. The same condition will have to be fulfilled during the institution's reaccreditation, which is scheduled every seven years.
Bošnjak said that it was a big mistake that there were no controls between reaccreditations when it comes to private institutions.
"Most people know that private educational institutions employ certain people at the time when they need to be re-accredited, and then they are fired or their status is changed, and they are not in the same condition as when they received accreditation. For this reason, I think that the possibility of reports should be left to the Agency to check at any moment whether the conditions for obtaining re-accreditation have been met", said Bošnjak.
It should be prescribed what are the reasons for canceling a study program, Bošnjak said and pointed out that the labor market should be examined, in order not to train people for the labor bureau.
Bošnjak pointed out that she finds it unacceptable that only the members of the Board of Directors can decide who will be the rector, and that it is very important to strengthen the institution of the rector.
"I am in favor of the immediate election of the rector," Bošnjak said.
For doctoral studies, the average of the entire schooling
Professor at the Faculty of Science and Mathematics, UCG Mara Šćepanović referred to the criteria for admission to doctoral studies.
"PMF advocates that the eliminatory factor for doctoral studies should not only be the grade from the previous level of study, which should be higher than 8,50, but the grade from all levels of study should be taken into account and the length should be considered studies. Those three factors should be considered when enrolling in doctoral studies," Šćepanović said.
She said that "she has nothing against giving scholarships to excellent students".
"But it really bothers me that when talented students from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering want to enroll in the Faculty of Physics at the same time, we have to tell them that they have to pay for it. Only good children enroll in the second study program. Why do they have to pay for that study program?" asked Šćepanović.
Dean of the Faculty of Law, Aneta Spaić, she said that doctoral students cannot be only those who have an average of 8,50 in the last phase of their studies. They must demonstrate quality continuously, throughout the duration of their studies, said Spaić.
She pointed out that since 2015, the Faculty of Law has been seeking the liberalization of the study system and the 4+1 system.
Spaić said that private faculties are a consequence of the need for pluralism in the higher education market, but that the performance of activities of public importance must be monitored in order to be adequate, so that we do not experience what we have in the environment.
"There are no private law schools in Croatia, and in Germany there is only one with a limited number of enrollments," said Spaić.
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