The Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica has filed an indictment against the former assistant director of the Institute of Public Health. Miljana Pavličić because she had worked for years in responsible positions at that important healthcare institution with forged educational documents.
Prosecutors are charging Pavličić with the criminal offense of fraud in prolonged duration.
"In the part relating to the case of diploma forgery, I inform you that the Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica has filed an indictment against MP for the criminal offense of fraud in extended duration," the prosecutor's office headed by him responded to "Vijesti". Dusko Milanović.
The ODT opened a criminal case in November 2023 after "Vijesti" wrote that the assistant director of the Institute of Public Health (IJZ) had worked in responsible positions for years on the basis of a forged certificate of completion of studies at the Faculty of Chemistry, University of Belgrade.
According to the Criminal Code of Montenegro, if it is proven in court that Pavličić committed criminal fraud, she faces a sentence of one to 10 years in prison, depending on the amount of the unlawful gain obtained.
Article 49 of the Criminal Code specifies that a continuous criminal offense consists of multiple identical or similar criminal offenses committed in temporal connection by the same perpetrator and which constitute a whole due to the existence of at least two of the following circumstances - the same injured party, the same subject matter of the offense, the use of the same situation or the same permanent relationship, the same place or area of the commission of the offense, or the single intent of the perpetrator.
The former assistant director of the Public Health Institute is also not happy with the fact that almost 11 years ago she was given a suspended sentence for falsifying data about her completed studies at the Faculty of Chemistry, University of Belgrade.
Pavličić worked at the Institute of Public Health from 2010 until almost the end of 2023. Until September 2011, she was an intern in the laboratory for testing the quality of food and general objects and the laboratory for testing water, air and soil. From September 2011 to February 2018, she held the position of analyst, and her job description included determining quality parameters in food, spectrophotometric determination of phosphate, nitrite and diastase content, determining the content of preservatives, sweeteners, contaminants, HMF sugar using HPLC and ELISA tests, keeping records and preparing documentation for accreditation. Since 2018, Pavličić has also been responsible for ISO 17025 standards at the Institute of Public Health. This is a standard that is a reference for laboratories. Thanks to this standard, test reports and certificates from accredited laboratories can be accepted worldwide, without the need for additional testing. She was also the president of the Commission for Accreditation of Health Institutions, Ministry of Health, deciding on employment at the Institute of Public Health…
WINGS AND FORGERY AND JUDGMENT
Data from the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of Belgrade, which "Vijesti" received more than a year ago based on a request for free access to information, shows that Pavličić did not complete her undergraduate studies at that university unit of the University of Belgrade.
"We inform you that according to official records and public documents kept and issued by the University of Belgrade - Faculty of Chemistry, Miljana Pavličić, born ... ("Vijesti" does not publish personal data in accordance with the Law), in Nikšić, Montenegro, was enrolled in undergraduate studies, majoring in Biochemistry, and that she was discharged from the faculty on March 9, 3. The named person did not obtain a diploma in undergraduate studies, majoring in (now a study program) in Biochemistry, nor in any other major at the University of Belgrade - Faculty of Chemistry," the Belgrade institution specified at the time.
Pavličić, however, claimed in her responses to the editorial staff that she graduated from the Faculty of Science and Mathematics, not the Faculty of Chemistry, in 2011.
She ignored the additional question of where she graduated, i.e. at which faculty she obtained the title of graduate biochemist.
"Miljana Pavličić's personal file at the Institute of Public Health of Montenegro contains proof of her completed university studies and acquired title, a decision on the recognition of a foreign diploma from 2011, a decision from the Ministry of Health on the passing of the professional exam, as well as a series of certificates from completed training courses on knowledge of ISO standard requirements. She has been working at the Institute for 12 years," the assistant director wrote in her response.
However, the Public Health Institute, in response to a request for free access to information sent through the NGO MANS, published a certificate on its website stating that Pavličić graduated from the Faculty of Chemistry in Belgrade in January 2010, which the Belgrade institution again denied.
A few days after the publication of the "Vijesti" investigation, it was revealed that Pavličić was sentenced in 2014 for the criminal offense of forging an educational document, on probation, which was confirmed by the Podgorica ODT and the Basic Court in Podgorica.
The conviction, the Basic Court in Podgorica explained at the time, did not even reach the Public Health Institute, because Pavličić said in the general statements given during the trial that she was not employed. However, data from the employment record showed that the former assistant director did not terminate her employment at the Public Health Institute from 2010 to 2023.
DIPLOMA VERIFICATION MODELS ARE WAITING
According to data from the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation, in the past five years, from 2019 to the end of last year, of the total number of requests for recognition of foreign educational documents, 30 to more than 40 percent of diplomas were issued in Serbia, and about 10 to 15 percent in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The department recently told "Vijesti" that this significantly affects the labor market, but also emphasized that they take the influx of diplomas from the region and abroad seriously.
They recalled that they had formed an Interdepartmental Working Group, whose task is to propose the best model for verifying foreign educational documents issued at educational institutions in the region.
"...After an analysis based on the requested and submitted data, we will come up with specific modalities that we will propose to the Ministry and the Government for future actions. The working group also focused its analysis on international cooperation - communication with institutions located in the countries of the region, in order to obtain the necessary information in a better and more objective manner," the Ministry claims.
We inform you that according to official records and public documents kept and issued by the University of Belgrade - Faculty of Chemistry, Miljana Pavličić, born ... ("Vijesti" does not publish personal data in accordance with the Law), in Nikšić, Montenegro, was enrolled in undergraduate studies, majoring in Biochemistry, and that she was discharged from the faculty on March 9, 3. The named person did not obtain a diploma in undergraduate studies, majoring in (now the study program) Biochemistry, nor in any other major at the University of Belgrade - Faculty of Chemistry", is the response that "Vijesti" previously received from the Belgrade institution
The interdepartmental working group also initiated changes to the Law on recognition of foreign educational documents and equalization of qualifications, and that proposal is in the parliamentary procedure.
The Ministry of Education filed more than 2024 criminal reports in 40 on suspicion of forgery of educational documents at all levels of education. In 2023, a total of 28 criminal reports were filed (secondary and higher education levels) on suspicion of forgery of educational documents and one criminal report on suspicion of forgery of a recognition decision issued by the Ministry.
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