CCE: There is no clearly established system for controlling the spending of money that the University of Montenegro gave to the Student Parliament

The University of Montenegro (UCG) allocated more than 1,35 million euros from 2020 to November last year to finance the Student Parliament (SPUCG), the Center for Civic Education (CCE) announced, stating that there is no clearly established system for controlling the spending of that money.

CCE said that the University of Montenegro has been allocating and disbursing significant funds to the SPUCG for years.

"According to data provided by the UCG to the CCE, in accordance with the Law on Free Access to Information, over 1,35 million euros were allocated for financing the SPUCG from 2020 to November last year," the statement says.

CCE stated that 190,4 thousand euros were allocated in 2020 and 2021, 230 thousand euros in 2022, and 255 thousand euros in 2023.

According to the non-governmental organization (NGO), 261,5 thousand euros were allocated in 2024, and 227.971 euros in the previous year, with an additional 75 thousand euros for material costs.

CCE program assistant Jovana Radulović said that there is no data that the UCG, after the funds are disbursed, monitors how the SPUCG spends that money, nor checks whether it was used for the intended purposes.

"CCE additionally requested from the University of Montenegro, in addition to data on the amounts, documentation from which it can be determined what specifically this money was spent on, including periodic and final reports on the work of the SPUCG," Radulović stated.

She said that, instead of a response, there was a mutual transfer of responsibility between the UCG and the SPUCG, in the manner of institutional ping-pong that leaves the public without key information.

"Namely, the Rector of the University of Montenegro, Vladimir Božović, rejected that part of the request, stating that the University of Montenegro is not in actual possession of the requested information, while referring to the autonomy of the University of Montenegro," the statement said.

The UCG, as Radulović said, then forwarded the request to the SPUCG for further action.

She said that, however, the President of SPUCG, Jakov Vukčević, in a letter to CCE, stated that the financial reports of SPUCG are an integral part of the consolidated financial report of UCG which is adopted by the University's Board of Directors, and that "the University is in possession of this data."

"So, instead of documentation on the specific expenditure of more than 1,35 million euros, we received a mutual referral from the UCG and SPUCG. The dilemma remains: is this a coordinated approach by Božović and Vukčević to hide information," the statement states.

CCE, as Radulović said, then additionally contacted the University of Montenegro and the State Educational Service of Montenegro, requesting documentation that would enable insight into the legal basis for payments, individual acts and contracts, as well as financial reports with clearly presented items of allocated and spent funds.

"The fact that the UCG forwarded the request to SPUCG does not relieve SPUCG of its obligation to act according to the law, especially since the documentation relates precisely to the disposal of public funds by this organization," the statement says.

Radulović stated that it is particularly problematic that the submitted documentation does not contain information that the University of Montenegro, as an institution that has been allocating and disbursing these funds for years, systematically checks their spending before new payments.

According to her, the elementary principles of financial accountability and public funds management imply that for each budget item there is clear and verifiable data on how the money was spent and whether it was used for the purposes for which it was intended.

Radulović said that it is additionally problematic that students and the public do not have the opportunity to determine whether the funds allocated for SPUCG over the years have actually been used for the needs and interests of the student community, or primarily for a narrow circle of student structures and individuals, nor whether there is a system that performs such controls at all.

"CCE recalls that the autonomy of the Student Parliament, prescribed by Article 120 of the Law on Higher Education, does not mean exemption from responsibility in the disposal of public money," the statement states.

As Radulović said, student bodies are autonomous in their work, but the public funds they have at their disposal are not exempt from the obligation of control and transparency.

She added that students, as those on whose behalf this money is being spent, have the first right to know how it is being spent.

"CCE calls on the UCG and SPUCG, without further shifting responsibility, to urgently submit the requested documentation and publicly publish all relevant financial reports and acts on the basis of which these funds are allocated and spent," the statement says.

It is stated that transparency in the use of public money must be the basis for the responsible work of every public institution, and that the University of Montenegro should teach this to the younger generation.