University of Belgrade (BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV)
The representatives of the Rebel University and Free University initiatives delivered demands to the Serbian government on June 9 with the goal of preserving the autonomy and freedom of Serbia's universities.
The demands include dissolving the working group drafting new legislation on higher education and opening a public, inclusive debate, abolishing "illegal changes" to the decree on the standards of work for universities and compensating for their impact, and adopting budget quotas for enrollment in faculties by the end of June at the latest.
"Society must decide if it wants to punish knowledge and critical thinking, or value it and use it as a foundation," said Vladimir Vukomanovic, a teacher at the Belgrade Faculty of Education and representative of the Rebel University.
He told reporters in front of the Serbian government headquarters that he was optimistic about reaching an agreement with the authorities, but that failure to meet the demands could mean a shutdown of universities and establishment of "various pseudouniversity institutions that would produce incompetent personnel."
The representatives of the academic community blocked the intersection at the Serbian government headquarters a little after 10 a.m., setting up several tents.
To get full access to all content of interest see our
Subscription offer
Or
Register for free
And read up to 5 articles each month.
Already have an account? Please Log in.