After more than two months, the Government of Serbia has not informed the public or the representatives of the Union of Montenegrin Students in Serbia whether it has taken any steps in connection with the initiative by which a copy of the census would become an integral proof of nationality when applying for the right to free education for students from Montenegro in Serbia.
"We are not members of the Government, we are not MPs, we are not employees of the Ministry of Education, so we cannot be informed about the daily flow of events within state bodies, which is a positive thing because the state is not obliged to inform laymen and ordinary citizens on a day-to-day basis about the smallest technical issues of its operation. We have not addressed the official authorities with the question whether in the meantime there has been an official implementation of our initiative", student Vuk Orović told "Vijesti".
Together with Marko Milačić and Ana Dobričanin, he was part of the delegation of the Union of Montenegrin Students in Serbia, which on October 26 last year met with the Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia and Minister of Defense Miloš Vučević and Minister of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs Nikola Selaković . At the meeting, an initiative was presented that would make a copy of the census an integral proof of nationality when applying for the right to free education for students from Montenegro in Serbia.
According to current regulations, a member of the Serbian national minority from a neighboring country in the 2023/2024 school year. In XNUMX, he could enroll in the first year of studies under the same conditions as a citizen of Serbia, including the right to enroll in studies as a student financed from the budget. When submitting the application and prescribed documentation for enrollment in studies, the candidate at the higher education institution also submits a written statement that he is a member of the Serbian national minority.
In the Montenegrin public, this initiative is mostly associated with the census. At the time, the Center for Democratic Transition (CDT) assessed that it was a completely illegal activity by a foreign country that "influences the census process and deliberately disrupts the census environment."
Orović denies claims that the launch of this initiative is connected with the population census in Montenegro and emphasizes that if Montenegro considers that a legal regulation adopted by Serbia for internal needs could affect the national declaration of a certain part of its population, this represents a problem of the collective identity of the Montenegrin society and an issue that is a national and sociological phenomenon, not an issue of international relations.
"The goal of this idea was not to affect the census. If this idea influenced a person to declare himself as a Serb, and not as a Montenegrin, Bosniak, Albanian or something completely different, that is a question for the mentioned persons and for their personal choice", said Vuk Orović.
In the meantime, according to him, the Association of Students of Montenegro in Serbia was acquired and registered in November last year as the Association of Students of the Serbian Diaspora.
The Ministry of Education of the Government of Serbia did not answer the questions regarding this initiative to "Vijesti".
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