Serbian president's university reform plan sparks backlash

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has pledged to reform the country's education system, including improving universities by bringing in foreign faculties. However, members of the academic community and other observers perceive this initiative as a systematic act of revenge against those deemed disloyal or disobedient.

Recent weeks have seen a surge in protests by students, parents, and professors across Serbia. Demonstrations have occurred outside the Rectorate of the University of Novi Sad, in support of a colleague facing potential loss of his academic title, and at the Ministry of Education, where parents and teachers from Jovine gymnasium voiced their concerns. These actions highlight a broader discontent with the current state of the educational system.

Vučić stated his intention to secure a parliamentary majority to enact changes to the educational and higher education systems before he resigns. He expressed a desire for competition and for all children, regardless of economic background, to have access to better universities. However, critics like Jelena Teodorović, a professor at the Faculty of Pedagogical Sciences in Kragujevac, liken his reform proposals to a "strange way to say destruction of the educational system."

Academics like Dinko Gruhonjić from the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad express deep distrust in the President's statements, particularly concerning higher education, which they believe he aims to destroy. Professor Teodorović further argues that reforming the education system is not the president's purview and that any introduction of foreign faculties requires thorough expert analysis. She views these proposed changes as part of a "vindictive campaign against higher education in Serbia."

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Ovo je jedan osvetoljubiv pohod na visoko obrazovanje u Srbiji. I sad su ovo pojedinačni slučajevi - Kleut, Mihić, Jovina gimnazija, ali već vidite ovi strani univerziteti nisu pojedinačan slučaj. To je ozbiljan atak na visoko obrazovanje