Every fifth teacher of natural sciences in Montenegrin primary and secondary schools was not actually trained to work in education.
According to the data of the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation, out of 800 teachers and professors of natural sciences, 648 of them have completed study programs in mathematics, physics and chemistry. Slightly more than a fifth - 152 of them - teach those subjects even though they come from related sciences.
The education department responded to "Vijesta" that the Montenegrin education system "for years has had a shortage of personnel in the natural sciences".
"...Which is a chronic problem of our society. In order to solve the problem, it is necessary to analyze it, examine the causes and find a way to motivate students to choose to study teaching courses", said the MPNI.
According to them, depending on the region, there is a shortage of personnel in the field of mathematics, but also in physics and chemistry.
"One of the reasons is that students graduating from high school prefer to study social sciences or humanities, rather than science or technology. In addition to working at school, mathematicians can find employment in the IT sector, banks, the economy and other sectors," said the institution he manages. Anđela Jakšić Stojanović.
The Ministry of Education said that they will update the issue of pedagogical, psychological, didactic and methodical groups of subjects, adding that they are necessary for teaching positions.
According to them, in addition to regular scholarships, students are also motivated by "scholarships intended for students in the field of natural sciences".
"We remind you that during the Open Door Day, students and professors from the Montenegrin University directly inform high school graduates about educational programs from the natural-mathematics group of subjects. Recently, contacts were established with professional associations of STEM sciences, and in this way they are trying to overcome this long-standing problem of insufficient staff in schools", they said.
They also emphasize that talks are ongoing with the University of Montenegro (UCG) regarding the opening of new study programs at Montenegrin faculties.
"Therefore, this problem will be approached in a comprehensive manner in order to motivate young people to be part of the teaching process and pass on their knowledge to future generations," explained MPNI.
Teaching profession unattractive
President of the Education Union of Montenegro Radomir Božović He said to "Vijesta" that "it has long been known that the teaching of physics, mathematics and other subjects is not professionally represented".
"Specifically, for mathematics, the Institute for Education (ZSŠ) handled the data that every third mathematics teacher in primary and secondary schools in Montenegro is represented by non-professionals. I think that, in the meantime, the situation has gotten a little worse. "There is a large number of teachers of mathematics, physics, biology and chemistry who are unprofessional", said Božović.
He noted that this represents a major problem for the Montenegrin education system, which, he claims, did not arise overnight.
"This has been happening for years, because the teaching job has become stressful. Violence against teachers, working conditions, pressures from parents and students, work in the classroom, administrations that sometimes do not know how to manage the relationship between teachers and parents and students," he said.
Božović emphasized that there is an increasing number of young people who avoid studying at faculties of natural sciences.
"They are not attractive even because of the salary. Our salary, with the last two increases, has been brought to the level of decency. Our salary requires additional increases in order not to improve the attractiveness of the profession... The problem is obvious and big", said the president of the Education Union.
He emphasized that young people should be encouraged to study natural sciences.
"It also happens to us that when they finish and experience working in schools, they can't wait for the opportunity to move to the private sector or state enterprises. Just because the job has become stressful and not paid enough. Therefore, the teaching profession is, at the moment, an unattractive job. We need the process in order to raise the profession to a higher level and to restore the dignity of the profession..." Božović concluded.
The Institute of Education also identified non-professional teaching
Deficiencies related to the field of teaching and learning, especially in the field of natural sciences, were also identified by the controls of the Institute for Education.
The supervisors found that the teaching of mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology in certain schools is not professionally represented.
"A certain number of young teachers do not have adequate pedagogical and methodical knowledge. Teaching is not aimed at developing learning strategies, critical thinking and creativity of students. Teaching questions are not sufficiently varied and harmonized with the evaluation criteria. In some classes, students lack independence in their work, and oral production is not at the appropriate level...", emphasized the Institute.
The schools were inspected during 2023 and in the first half of 2024. Only two out of 91 institutions were evaluated as very successful during the external determination of the quality of educational work conducted by the Institute for Education (ZZŠ).
As the Institute told "Vijesta" earlier, there was no "unsatisfactory" rating, 87 institutions were rated "successful", while two schools received a "satisfactory" rating.
The Institute emphasizes that there were examples of risky behavior in a high percentage of educational institutions, that the percentage of "Luča" diplomas awarded is too high in relation to the total number of final grade students in schools, that in some educational institutions there are cases of belittling, abuse and insulting students by teachers, unequal grading...
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