Bachelor's degree still the lowest level of education for managers

Senior management and expert staff, as well as heads of state administration bodies, will have to have at least a bachelor's degree (level VI of educational qualification), according to the amendments to the Draft Law on Civil Servants and State Employees, which, as "Vijesti" has learned, the Government approved yesterday.

The amendments, say editorial sources, will be sent to the Parliament of Montenegro, to which the Bill was previously submitted.

"The proposed amendment allows a person with a higher level of education than level VI to be a head of an authority, a senior or expert staff member, and not just a person with that level of qualification. The reason for the proposed amendment is also the case law which suggests that, if only level VI of education qualification were to remain, persons with a higher level of education would not meet that requirement," the reasons for the Government's amendment were explained.

The bill is in the parliamentary procedure, and the controversy over the legal text has been ongoing since the end of February, because the Government did not accept the draft offered by the Ministry of Public Administration.

This draft law, as "Vijesti" was told by the department Maraš Dukaj, was agreed with European partners, but did not receive support from the Government.

Some ministers found it objectionable that a VII-1 level of education, i.e. a four-year university education, was required for senior management and expert staff, as well as heads of agencies. They also did not like the provision that the acting head of an agency must be from the state administration, which would ensure that candidates from other sectors would not enter the public service without respecting the new legal criteria.

The Ministry of Public Administration then confirmed to the editorial staff that Minister Dukaj "separated his opinion in relation to the directly proposed changes to the legal text, which were put forward during the Government session."

"The Minister pointed out that the Draft Law is in line with all the suggestions of the European Commission, which is why it received a positive opinion, and that these are solutions that go towards depoliticization and strengthening the professionalization of public administration, and therefore its optimization and rationalization, which is exactly what the Minister and his team are advocating for throughout this entire process, and through their work within the framework of the 43rd and 44th Governments," the MPA responded to "Vijesti".