Yesterday, Centre for Civic Education (CCE) urged the rector of University of Montenegro, Radmila Vojvodić, regarding the issue of clear and non-discriminatory definition of additional hiring of professors at this academic institution.
As a reminder, on 18/06/2014, CCE submitted an urgency to former rector, professor Predrag Miranović, regarding the Initiative for adoption of Rule book on the criteria and conditions by which the ones employed at the University of Montenegro could be hired as guest professors, consultants and perform additional work. The Initiative was created as a result of order from rector, whereby he prohibited any type of additional hiring of academic staff at the University of Montenegro without his agreement, which leaves room for manipulation and discrimination, given that there are no transparent criteria that would secure equal opportunities for all. University of Montenegro management has not provided any response on this matter even six month from the submission of the initiative, as well as on additional demands from CCE regarding the detailed information and nature of hiring of teaching staff at the University of Montenegro (which include individual names) or at other higher education institutions in Montenegro or outside of it.
CCE believes that the adoption of this Rule book, more precisely, of criteria on this issue, is of particular importance for entire academic staff, in order to resolve the existing doubts and potential discriminatory relation of additional hiring of academic staff employed at the University of Montenegro, but also to prevent numerous violations of existing legislative framework, as it has been the case so far. By establishing clear rules, equal opportunity would be provided for everyone who is additionally hired, thereby securing the interest of University of Montenegro as an institution.
CCE considers that University of Montenegro should address these issues in a systematic manner, in order to gradually enter the stage of regulating the relations at this institution as well as to repair the damage made so far. By refusing to render the work of University of Montenegro management transparent, as well as to create conditions whereby decisions would be made based on clear procedures, and not based on (self) will of any individual in power, wrong message is being sent to citizens who finance the work of University of Montenegro.
Mira Popović, programme associate