One thousand 794 - that many students in the final grades of primary and secondary schools in Montenegro were awarded the "Luča" diploma, according to data from the Ministry of Education provided to Television Vijesti. That is almost 600 more honors students than last school year,
"5.027 students graduated from high school, of which 887 received this diploma, while 7.606 students completed the ninth grade of elementary school, and among them 907 students were awarded the 'Luča' diploma," the Ministry of Education announced.
The highest number of A's in primary schools were received by students in Podgorica, Nikšić, Berane, Bijelo Polje and Rožaje, while the highest number of high school students with a "Luča" diploma was also in these municipalities, but also in Bar.
And the hyperproduction of saliva is not a virus that has only affected Montenegrin society. Professor at the University of Croatia Nikša Sviličić notes how much the situation in his country has changed in just a few decades.
"About 10-15 years ago, there was a hyperinflation of honors in elementary schools. So, in a class if you passed with four, you were branded as worthless. In my time, I'm in my 70s, in a class of 30 students there were two or three honors. That hyperinflation of honors in Croatian elementary schools from those 15 years ago gently, capillary-like, spilled over into secondary education and then all of that eventually reached university, or rather, faculty. It got to the point where it became a matter of prestige, it became a matter of something that you had to say that you graduated, in order to be a full member of the community," says Nikša Sviličić, a professor at the University of Croatia.
The Ministry of Education of Montenegro is also aware that such a large number of flawless students does not correspond to the real state of affairs. This is also shown by poor results in external school leaving exams and international testing, so the department of Anđela Jakšić Stojanović is conducting an analysis to identify in which specific class and with which teacher there is a discrepancy in grades, and will present its results during the first semester.
"One of the activities planned for the upcoming school year is the amendment of the regulation relating to the awarding of the 'Luča' diploma, the criteria on the basis of which it is awarded, with special emphasis on the introduction of some new criteria that would truly give this award the shine it deserves," the Ministry of Education announced.
And the challenge, Sviličić points out, is to plant healthy roots.
"The solution to the problem is already apparent in primary education, where clear criteria for excellence need to be established, and then later cultivated in quotation marks, these criteria for excellence. Where I see the solution to the problem is in a smarter structuring of state policies in terms of the number of certain quotas for enrollment at certain faculties," says the professor.
Until we do that, a sea of diplomas will gather dust, while we will wait longer and longer for a craftsman of any profile, who, once he arrives, we will have to pay dearly.
"It is not a tragedy that we have too many diplomas. The tragedy is that we have too few opportunities for those diplomas to enter circulation and make our societies better," believes Sviličić.
And let's remind ourselves – being an excellent student means being the best and perfect in all subjects, all areas. It is true that versatile and successful people have always been born in this region, but let's admit, not in such large numbers.
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