On the election of new members to the faculty and university councils...
The actions of Aleksandar Vučić's regime towards the University reflect the long-term process of collapsing higher education. Starting in 2017, when a set of educational laws was passed, including the Law on Higher Education, which gave the state the opportunity to dominantly participate in the creation of educational policies and personnel decisions, the progressive pressure has been increasing.
The autonomy of the University, as an asset of civilization, is not acceptable to the regime of the Serbian Progressive Party. In addition to the fact that for them it is disputed that anyone in the state has autonomy of thought and action, the University is certainly recognized as the most dangerous source of healthy thought and resistance to social deviations. The potential for rebellion lies in the hands of the University, and Aleksandar Vučić, the Minister of Information from the time when his boss Vojislav Šešelj passed the draconian Law on Higher Education (1998) by which he overrode autonomy and fired dozens of "disobedient" professors, knows this well. Vučić is a good student and has learned that the same effect can be achieved by gradually strangling education through individual moves in that direction. He has patience and thoroughly, brick by brick, demolishes everything in front of him. During this year, we also experienced the vindictive venture of Sinisa Malog, the Minister of Finance, due to the refusal of the University of Belgrade to grant him the title of Doctor of Science. Each faculty was subject to extraordinary financial inspection and punishment; the law regulating the funding of the University is being changed, all with the aim of increasing dependence on the state.
The placement of criminals, unsound people, warmongers and obscure characters on faculty councils, which has been going on for several years, I see as logical steps in the process of total destruction. I am not surprised as I follow and watch this road to the precipice.
Whom "should" Bokan at the Faculty of Philology?
I would say that there are two levels on which the progressive regime performs the task of destroying the University. The first is formal through the laws and procedures I have already described. By inserting its people into the Councils, SNS will be able to supervise the work of each faculty. The council is responsible for analyzing the financial report and adopting important decisions for the functioning of the faculty. Also, the Council is essentially the body that finally chooses the dean, regardless of the vote of the Teaching and Research Council, i.e. professors and assistants. In addition to this formal influence, it is also clear that the presence of these people causes informal pressure on employees to behave in accordance with expectations.
Another level of action is quite open humiliation of the University. When you insert characters such as Bokan or Novak Nedic into the governing bodies, people known from black chronicles, the criminal milieu, some ugly radical times or from the fringes of pop, then you clearly show the entire society where the place of education, knowledge and profession, in the progressive vision of ethical and social values. They show us that our place is on the margins, not at the center of social development.
How was it before??
There has always been an influence of the ruling political structures on the work of the University through the appointment of politically eligible people. However, care was taken to ensure that these are people who have at least some reputation in the academic community and the profession. Now the situation is more serious, not only because the principle of appointing "prominent figures from the fields of science, economy and culture" has been completely violated, but also because of the increased share of politically appointed people in faculty councils, which was made possible by the aforementioned Law on Higher Education from 2017 . I think we are yet to see the consequences, because the regime has now completely taken off its gloves with these appointments.
About the academic community...
Reactions are minimal and devastating. In the academic community, there is a great discontent of the majority, but it smolders with feeble power. These are not people who do not see what is happening and what the trends are, but despite this, few decide to react. My disappointment to my colleagues is huge. The whole society is drawn into apathy, which does not exclude the academic community. I do not find any justification in that fact, because the professors still have some kind of protection from the University. I keep saying that the responsibility is precisely on us, not only to prevent the regime's rape of higher education, but to react to all the devastating social trends led by SNS. In the academic community, some people were "bought", some were inserted into regime structures, there are those who fear or do not believe in the possibility of change, but the majority are people who do not want to leave their "comfort zone" and do not understand that their life , who is undeniably privileged compared to the rest of the population, can be changed in the blink of an eye. If they don't already feel a responsibility towards society, they could at least worry about their own future. Students are also currently a weak force for change - they either decide to leave the country or do not see what role they could play in social change. We should not ignore the fact that formal student bodies at the University also control SNS and SPS through their student representatives. Their task is to suppress the rebellion.
However, I believe that it is possible to profile the resistance to this progressive scourge at the University. There are people who are ready for battle. Can't take this anymore.
