BETAPHOTO/MINISTRY OF DEFENSE OF SERBIA/Darimir Banda
The informal university network Academic Plenum cautioned on Jan. 26 that at its last session the Government of Serbia heralded full state control over higher education and the abolition of university autonomy.
The group warned in a statement that at the Jan. 25 session, which was also attended by President Aleksandar Vucic, there was a “clearly expressed intent by the authorities to use amendment procedure to assume full control over the appointment of professors who will teach,” which, according to the Academic Plenum, would undermine education and eliminate free and critical thought.
“Dismissals at the State University in Novi Pazar, as well as the case of Jelena Kleut not receiving a proper academic title, will become the rule based on full government control over universities,” the informal network said.
They also assessed that the arrival of foreign universities, which would be financed from Serbia’s state budget, “would inevitably lead to the disappearance of public faculties.”
The group said that the academic community and citizens of Serbia will not remain silent or simply observe the destruction of education, and called on citizens to respond to students’ call for the rally “Knowledge Is Power” on Jan. 27, the feast day of Saint Sava.
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