Serbian Faculty Faces Crisis: No Budget Places, Salaries Unpaid

The Faculty of Philosophy in Niš faces an uncertain future as the Serbian government has failed to allocate funds for employee salaries and has not approved budget places for three study programs, despite interim court measures. Milan Videnović, a research associate at the faculty, stated that employees were informed they could not count on salaries after July 1. This situation arises after the government abolished budget places for history, Serbian language, and Russian language programs, from which the Faculty of Serbian Studies was formed. The government has ignored a court ruling that suspended its decisions until a final verdict on the abolition of these departments at the Faculty of Philosophy.

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We were told, before the adoption of interim measures, that after July 1, we would not be able to count on salaries.

Videnović explained that the Faculty of Serbian Studies currently holds an illegal status, as the abolition of their work permits raises questions about their registration, tax identification numbers, and bank accounts. Any funds transferred to this faculty's account would be legally questionable. Conversely, the Faculty of Philosophy, having regained its full operating permit through a second interim court measure, should legally receive the necessary appropriations for upcoming salaries. Videnović described the government's actions as a blatant disregard for court decisions.

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Here we have a violation of court decisions, or rather, their circumvention in a completely inappropriate way.

Regarding the students affected by the lack of budget places, Videnović called it another example of the Serbian government's irresponsibility. These students had their budget status revoked after the entrance exams. The Faculty of Philosophy has decided to waive tuition fees for these students to partially rectify the injustice. However, representatives of the founder (the republic) did not vote in favor of this relief measure during the council session, indicating a desire for these students to bear the full cost of tuition.

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We will use all legal means to restore their budget status, because in addition to not paying tuition fees, it also carries the possibility of applying for dormitories, then meals in the canteen, and the like.