Students who have been blocking colleges for months stated on their Instagram account that the changes in the regulations, which reduced salaries for professors, in direct opposition to the principles of quality and accessibility of education that this informal group expressed in its fourth student demand, and the Regulation itself "destroys the foundations of higher education".
"The Law on Higher Education (prescribes that norms and standards) is established by the Government, on the proposal of the National Council and after obtaining the opinion of the Conference of Universities and the Conference of Academies and Colleges. We believe that the legal procedure has not been followed and it is necessary that this Regulation be repealed. We remind you that the Government in its technical mandate, neither according to the Constitution nor according to the Law, has the right to pass regulations, but only to carry out current affairs," the Instagram post states.
The new Regulation on the norms and standards of working conditions of universities and faculties for activities financed from the budget changed the structure of the working hours of teachers and associates.
According to the previous regulations, it was foreseen that the teaching and research staff would spend 20 hours a week on teaching and related activities, and the other 20 hours were devoted to scientific research, that is, artistic work.
With the amendments to the Regulation, which was adopted by the Government of Serbia in a technical mandate on March 24, that relationship changes, so that 35 hours a week are set aside for teaching, and only five hours for scientific research or artistic work.