Centre for Civic Education (CCE) has been pointing out for years that the high number of “LUČA” diplomas does not correspond to the excellence in knowledge that should back them up. Therefore, it is positive sign that this year we are beginning to observe a slight decrease in the number of holders of this diploma compared to previous years when we reached record numbers, as this may leading to a more realistic picture.
According to the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation, during the past school year there has been a slight decrease in the number of “LUČA” diplomas at both the primary and secondary education levels, although there remains a suspicion that even this percentage does not reflect the true merits of the award recipients.
This is also highlighted by the results of the (lack of) knoweldge sknown in the recent external examinations, such as the high school graduation exam in MSBC, where only 2.13% of the nearly 16% of top students had excellent knowledge. Of course, there are also the chronically poor results from PISA testing.
In the past seven years, the number of “LUČA” holders in high schools has ranged between 15 and 20%, with 2023/2024 seeing 16.85%, or 827 holders out of 4,908 students. At the same time, for primary schools, it is now 11.98%, or 950 “LUČA” holders out of 7,928 students, with fluctuations in recent years between 12 and 16% for this educational level.
The CCE believes that the method of evaluating or grading students’ knowledge in Montenegro must change if we aim to achieve greater accomplishments in education, acquired skills, and competencies, which should be the focus for both students and teachers, rather than grades. It should not be forgotten that even lower grades represent certain achievements that contribute to improvement, as they are positive outcomes of acquired skills or knowledge, whereas top grades represent excellence and exceptional effort.
Note: According to earlier data from the Ministry of Education provided to the CCE in 2022, in the 2021/2022 school year, there were a total of 7,349 ninth-grade students at the end of the year and 1,083 “Luča” diplomas. In 2024, the Ministry’s data for the same year shows 7,311 students and 1,103 “Luča” diplomas. Similarly, according to the same data from the Ministry in 2022, in the 2021/2022 school year, there were a total of 5,383 fourth-grade students at the end of the year and 1,096 “Luča” diplomas. In 2024, the Ministry’s data for the same year shows 5,237 students and 1,031 “Luča” diplomas. For these reasons, there is a small difference between the previously published data of the CCE and these now for the 2021/2022 school year.
Snežana Kaluđerović, Senior Legal Advisor