Privileges and pressures divide school groups and students

The education system reflects what is happening in society, state institutions and on the political scene, so it is not surprising that educators in their collectives are divided into two camps - those who support the director and those who do not, said a journalist for "Vijesti" yesterday. Marija Pešić at the Anti-Corruption Forum "Corruption in Education", organized by BIRN Montenegro and the Civic Alliance.

"Educational workers who work alongside the director have certain benefits through additional compensation, mentoring, training... On the other hand, there are people who are vocal about it, but they are subjected to various checks of knowledge, quality of work, and the like, which they perceive as pressure," said Pešić.

Speaking about private lessons, she said that this practice is partially permitted and regulated by law, but that in practice it raises the issue of equality of students and possible abuses. She also emphasized that private lessons are not common in all areas, because the ability of parents to pay for them is not the same in Podgorica and on the coast, and in Plav, Gusinje, Petnjica, Andrijevica...

According to her, private lessons create a gap between children, and some students and parents feel that they are “second-class students and citizens.” She also mentioned the so-called VIP classes, stating that such classes are actually just a continuation of the system of privileges.

Pešić recalled that the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation recently published an analysis of the risk of corruption in education and that the results showed similar problems to the research that was conducted over the past months, with the help of an online questionnaire by "Vijesti", as well as by the civil sector.

"Over 40 percent of students reported taking private lessons. Of those, 15 percent said they take private lessons with a teacher from their school or with the teacher who teaches them the subject. At the same time, only nine percent of teachers said they give private lessons, so the question arises as to who these children go to," said Pešić.

Advisor to the Rector of the University of Montenegro for Strategic Policies and Sustainable Development Branka Bosniak She said that there was pressure at the University, because, she assessed, that institution is not exempt from the overall social environment.

However, she assessed that the University is the "healthiest environment" in relation to the overall ambience.

"There is no sense of party politics at the University now in terms of counting and influencing professors on how they will do their teaching. There used to be that, but it seems to me there is much less of it now," said Bošnjak.

She said that the current management of the University retained some of the staff from the previous convocation and that there was no revanchism, which, she said, shows a desire to preserve institutional memory.

Bošnjak stated that her complaint about the University is its lack of critical thinking towards society.

"The university, especially as the only state university, should be a corrector of social events. No one can tell me that a university professor, especially a full professor, cannot critically reflect on phenomena in their profession," said Bošnjak.

President of the Education Union Radomir Božović He said that teachers are exposed to pressure from students, parents and school administrations, which can often be interconnected.

He also cited examples in which directors, although not members of departmental councils, attend sessions and guide decisions.

"The principal is not a member of the department council, but he sits there and leads the session. He says - we need a very good one here, we need to make an excellent one here," said Božović.

Blind Coordinator Boris Marić He said that there are problems of a normative nature in education, but also that one of the key sources of corruption is unreformed state administration.

"It is one of the biggest sources of corruption in the system, and it is also related to this topic," said Marić.

He said that it is necessary to move towards decentralization and specialized committees that would make decisions based on clear criteria, with surveys of students and parents and additional checks of candidates.

Speaking about dubious diplomas and personnel who have already entered the system, Marić said that it is "very difficult to turn things back", because the system for protecting civil servants is very strong, "maybe even too strong" when it comes to determining responsibility. Therefore, as he said, work must be done on criteria, filters and checking the relevance of diplomas and qualifications.

Executive Director of NGO MASTER Andrea Popovic She said that she does not see sufficient willingness among decision-makers to regulate the selection of directors in a way that would guarantee professionalism and transparency.

She said that they proposed models that include an assessment of leadership skills, competency training, and an obligation to publicly announce and explain every decision on the selection of directors.

"Every decision should be made public, and why that director was chosen," said Popović.

Member of Parliament of Montenegro Aleksandra Despotović, a member of the Committee for Education, Science, Culture and Sports and a professor at the University of Montenegro, said that it seems to her that the executive branch has greater options than the legislative branch when it comes to selecting directors.

"The Ministry makes the decision on the selection of the director. The Board receives information there, and often too late. If someone complains, they complain after the process is complete and the Board does not have enough opportunities to contribute to a better and more transparent selection of the director," said Despotović.

She said that she could not find reports, rankings, and explanations for the selection of principals, and that school boards should be professionalized.

"It happens that people talk about education who have never taught a class, neither in the classroom nor at the university," said Despotović.

Deputy Prime Minister for the political system, judiciary and anti-corruption Momo Koprivica He said during the opening of the forum that corruption in education is not just a matter of purchased diplomas and exams, but a broader phenomenon that encompasses procedures, regulations and academic processes.

President of the Council of the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption Pavle Ćupić He said that the issue of integrity in education must be one of the key social issues, because the education system shapes future generations and patterns of behavior.

Executive Director BIRN Montenegro Vuk Marash He said that corruption in education leads to the devaluation of diplomas and knowledge, the departure of the best personnel, and the collapse of trust in institutions.