"I have mixed feelings. I feel both sadness and anger. I can't even describe it," Nikola Stefanović told DW. He is studying history and has only four exams left. He says he enrolled in Philosophy and wants to graduate from that faculty They are not, and no Faculty of Serbian Studies.
"Some of us haven't slept for two days now since we found out that the departments lost their permission to work on ours." Faculty of Philosophy", says Stefanović.
Photo: Jelena Djukic Pejic/DWNikola Stefanović: I feel both sadness and anger
Mina Komadina, a fourth-year student of Serbian language and literature, tells a similar story. He says that students are now put in a checkmate position where they have the option of either transferring to a new faculty or seeking refuge at universities in other cities. Most students are against both variants, says Komadina.
"You have here young people whose parents are making sacrifices, whose parents are paying for their apartments. Many of them were left without budget places completely illegally," says Komatina. "I think it's extremely inhumane to put these people through some additional existential problems."
Photo: Jelena Djukic Pejic/DWMina Komadina: The students were put in checkmate
What exactly happened?
In October of last year, the media learned that the Minister of Education of Serbia, Dejan Vuk Stanković, proposed the establishment of the Faculty of Serbian Studies, which will be led by members of the Movement for the People and Fatherland - the president of that Movement in Niš, doctor Milan Lazarevic, as well as some professors of the Faculty of Philosophy.
As the media wrote, the goal of the formation of the faculty is to strengthen the Serbian identity through the three departments that have been at the Faculty of Philosophy until now - history, Serbian studies and Russian studies. The mayor of Niš immediately announced that the city will cede its premises to the new faculty. On this occasion, the Council of the University of Nis met in October - and did not give a positive opinion for the establishment of the Faculty of Serbian Studies.
In November, the Government of Serbia nevertheless established a new faculty, without the positive opinion of the authorities of the University of Niš, as well as without the positive opinion of the Faculty of Philosophy. The Administration of the Philosophical Society points to a violation of the law and points out that no one is against the establishment of a new faculty, but that they should create their own study groups instead of taking study groups from their faculty. The founders of the faculty announce in the media close to the government that the accreditation process is underway.
Photo: Jelena Djukic Pejic/DWMessage at the entrance to the Faculty of Philosophy building in Niš
At the beginning of March this year, students of history, with the support of lawyers and lawyers, and then students of Serbian and Russian languages, started signing declarations that they do not want their documents and personal data to be transferred to any other institution, that this can only be done by the student at his personal request. The professors of those departments also declared that according to the law they cannot just transfer to any other faculty, because their working relationship is based on the Faculty of Philosophy.
At the end of March, the Minister of Education presented the accreditation to Dr. Milan Lazarevic, president of the Provisional Council of the Faculty of Serbian Studies. It is also learned from the media.
Three days ago, it was learned from the media that the permission to work at the Faculty of Philosophy in Niš was revoked from the aforementioned departments.
Parallel to all these events, students and professors organize protest meetings. At the same time, none of those involved in the formation of the new faculty are available to journalists for statements.
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Milan Videnović, an associate researcher from the history department in Niš, says that this is a warning to all faculties and universities in Serbia about what is in store for them.
"This is a blow to the system, creating a precedent, and that generally allows later to use that precedent as a positive example to create rules for how things will be done in the future," he says. He also expects that the professors who established an employment relationship at the Faculty of Philosophy will now most likely lose their jobs.
Professor Irena Ljubomirović believes that this is possible, but points out that the law is still on their side, because their employment relationship can be terminated only by the Faculty of Philosophy or by them personally. In addition, he adds, the law is also clear about revoking a license to work in a higher education institution.
Photo: Jelena Djukic Pejic/DWProf. Irena Ljubomirović: Students and professors expected this kind of decision, but they were still surprised by the speed
"According to the Law on Higher Education, you can revoke your work permit only if the external quality control, i.e. inspection, determines that there are omissions in the work and that there are certain irregularities in the work in the execution of the program. This did not happen at the Faculty of Philosophy, so this act that was passed was also passed in complete contradiction to the Law on Higher Education."
Students and professors expected this kind of decision, says professor Ljubomirović, but they are still surprised by its speed. She also announces that the Faculty of Philosophy will file an appeal with the administrative court in the next 30 days.
The new faculty will last as long as this government
Sociologist and professor at the Faculty of Arts in Niš, Predrag Cveticanin, who since the beginning of the protests in Serbia has emphasized the importance of supporting the student list in the upcoming elections, believes that the Faculty of Serbian Studies "will last as long as this government lasts."
Photo: Jelena Djukic Pejic/DWProf. Predrag Cveticanin: Faculty of Serbian Studies "will last as long as this government lasts"
"In my estimation, even those who enroll in the first year will not be able to finish it, and that faculty will no longer exist. Then the obligation of the new government would be to abolish that faculty, but not because some identity content is studied there, those identity content is studied at the Faculty of Philosophy, at the group with sociology, philosophy, history, Serbian language since those groups existed, but because that faculty is illegal," Cvetičanin believes.
The students we talked to are also sure of that. Đorđe Petrović, a graduate student in history, says:
"We will not go to the Faculty of Serbian Studies, no matter what happens. We will fight to the end. We will persevere in this. We will take every possible measure to prevent this illegal procedure carried out by the Government and individuals and that will be the end, even if he does not finish the faculty."
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