Title, knowledge and property
As in the case of Defence Minister Boro Vucinic, former director of the General Hospital in Berane, and the current Health Minister Miodrag Radunovic began to build his university career upon his arrival to the Government of Montenegro.
The only state University of Montenegro got a D for quality at an April Conference of Ministers of Education, whereas the report of the Ministerial Meeting in London 2007 states that “the University of Montenegro is individually politically led.” This conclusion did not surprise the connoisseurs of university and political schemes in Montenegro, and the lowest mark for quality is explained as a result of long-term open, but covert political impact and connections that are defined as nepotism.
After the introduction of the multiparty system, the University of Montenegro became the stronghold of the ruling Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) whose candidates, as a rule, won the elections for the Rector. In recent years we can hear an increasing number of public estimates claiming that this institution was taken over by a minor coalition partner in the Government, the Social Democratic Party (SDP), and that today the university positions are mainly held by members and supporters of that party.
“Most likely, DPS has handed over the University to SDP, where nowadays we witness legal violence and the suppression of critical thought,” says sociologist and professor at the Faculty of Philosophy in Niksic Srdjan Vukadinovic and estimates that unlike kinship, political impact at the State University is far more evident. “No university in a democratic country allows its Government members to teach at the University. This happens only with us. Also, it is inconceivable that someone at 45 or 50 years of age is elected professor, thus it is clear that such advancement is provided by other influences, i.e. political affiliation. In addition, we have examples of people teaching in postgraduate courses, without having completed their own postgraduate studies. On the other hand, there are obstructions is announcing competitions for the election of those who are politically unfit. Nowadays we also witness situations that review commissions seat experts in other fields. Therefore, we have complete chaos,” says Vukadinovic.
Eight years ago the elected Rector was Ljubisa Stankovic, member of the highest organs of SDP and a full Professor at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, who led the Union of Reform Forces upon introduction of the multiparty system. Although he stated that he had frozen his party positions, at the end of his term of office as Rector in 2008 he was accused of being responsible for rigging elections for the new rector along with SDP. Overwhelming support from the academic community was entrusted with Predrag Miranovic, despite the public insinuations from his colleagues and opponents that he was being protected by Stankovic and his party. Kindred and party links have not impeded the appointment of Srdjan Stankovic as new Dean of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering. The brother of the former rector was recently also elected President of the SPD Board Podgorica.
Titles and ranks: In mid-June this year at a private Faculty of Business Management in Bar, the title of a docent was awarded to Miodrag Vukovic, Official of the ruling Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), and Vukoman Golubovic, President of the Court of Appeals of Montenegro, who both hold Ph.D. degrees in constitutional and criminal law. Academic degree was awarded to them by a Commission headed by Gordana Djurovic, Minister for European Integration and full professor at the state University of Economics. A Commission consisting of seven members included Ranko Mujovic , Dean of the state Faculty of Law, and former DPS representative, and Milan Markovic, President of the Constitutional Court of Montenegro, and an associate professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences.
The awarding of academic titles was conducted before the Council for Higher Education adopted the Rules for Awarding Academic Titles, which the Faculty had sent as early as May 8, which was confirmed by Dean Milenko Radoman, who explained that “the procedure was a formality”, as the faculty had unofficial information that “the rules had been passed”. Radoman said he did not know why they have still not been officially informed thereof, but nevertheless this happened with a small delay, because the rules were verified in June, after the elections were carried out by the said Commission.
Ranko Krivokapic’s Cabinet
Sonja Tomovic-Sundic, Advisor for Human and Minority Rights to Ranko Krivokapic, Parliament Speaker of Montenegro and SDP President, who is also the daughter of university Professor and former Minister of Religion Slobodan Tomovic, teaches Anthropology and Philosophy at the Faculty of Political Sciences, and was also elected Vice Dean. Sundic-Tomovic is also a member of the Steering Committee and the Senate of the University of Montenegro. Former Krivokapic’s Advisor Drazen Cerovic is Vice Dean for Academic Affairs at the Faculty of Law.
Vukovic took his Master’s Degree at the Faculty of Law five years ago with the thesis entitled “Freedom of Political Association in Post-Communist Montenegro. At the same time, Master’s Degree was awarded to his party colleague Boro Vucinic, then Minister of Environmental Protection and Urban Planning, and the current Defence Minister, and Aco Djukanovic, brother of Prime Minister and DPS President Milo Djukanovic. Minister Vucinic’s thesis was “Freedom of Peaceful Public Assembly in International Law with Special Reference to Montenegro,” and Djukanovic’s thesis was entitled “Constitutional Appeal as a Form of Direct Constitutional Protection of Human Rights in the Constitutions of the EU and Montenegro.”
Their mentor was Slavko Lukic, Professor of the Faculty of Law. Lukic accepted to act as mentor for Miodrag Vukovic’s doctoral dissertation entitled “The Concept and Legal Nature of the Constitutional Charter of Serbia and Montenegro and the Character of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro”. Although the University Senate denied the request for topic selection, requiring broader elaboration of its scientific contribution, Vukovic successfully defended the doctoral dissertation in his second attempt.
“As for nepotism and my situation I could, with a great deal of acrimony, firstly talk about my path in which I have experienced many inconveniences and obstructions at the state University”, says Vukovic in his interview to the programme Under the magnifying Glass. “The reason why I applied for the competition of the private faculty in Bar was because I was denied access to the state University, where, as I was told, there were even groups instrumentalized to postpone the inevitable, i.e. my doctorate. Only a few days ago I received the decision of the Teachers’ Council of the Faculty in Bar regarding the award of the title of docent in one of the subjects, because the Council for Higher Education avoided to put on the agenda the Rulebook on Criteria. Allegedly, they heard that these rules were set up for Misko Vukovic”. President of the Assembly Committee for International Relations and European Integration added: “You’re asking me who will believe me that I was obstructed at the state University? Only I can believe it, because I played the game of “Chinese whispers” with the State University for a year, so I was forced to write to the Minister of Education and to complain of discrimination.” Vukovic also claims that it was political corruption that once chased him away from the Faculty of Law, where he once graduated with high marks and began working as an Assistant Professor.
As in the case of Vucinic, former director of the General Hospital in Berane, and the current Health Minister Miodrag Radunovic began to build up his university career upon his arrival to the Government of Montenegro in 2006. He served two terms as Representative in the Parliament of the Republic, and after the referendum on the state status of Montenegro, was elected member of the DPS Presidency. He defended his Ph.D. thesis in 2006 at the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade, and in 2007 he was promoted to the academic title of a docent at the Faculty of Medicine in Podgorica, where he now teaches the course of Surgery. Radunovic is appointed at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences in courses of First Aid and Surgery.
The University Bulletin No. 244 of July 1, 2009 also reports data on his engagement in review committees. Radunovic gave a positive opinion for awarding the title of a docent at the Faculty of Medicine in Podgorica to Aleksandar Nikolic, a surgeon from Belgrade. At the end of 2008 Nikolic was appointed Director of the Centre for Cardiac Surgery in Podgorica, when Srdjan Pavicevic, former Director and a doctor, was deposed.
DPS Member of Parliament Bozidar Vuksanovic, until recently Director of the Spuž Prison and newly appointed Head of the Customs Administration has recently received his Master’s Degree at the Faculty of Economics in Podgorica with the thesis entitled “Internal Economy of the Prison System in Correlation with the Safety Factor”. Marija Jovovic, his associate and spokesperson of the Spuž Prison got her Master’s Degree at the Faculty of Political Sciences. She successfully defended the thesis “The Prison System in Montenegro and Public Relations.”
Unwilling to give up their teaching hours: Gordana Djurovic, Minister for European Integration and the President of the National Commission for Fight against Corruption and Organized Crime did not give up her teaching hours with the state University of Economics, when she joined the Government. In the academic year of 2008-2009, as testified by the University Bulletin, she taught four courses: International Economic Relations, Regional Economics, Environmental Economics and Economic Development. She is paid ten teaching hours a week. Vujica Lazovic, Vice President of SDP and the Government, Minister for Information Society, teaches the same number of courses. Former Dean of the Faculty of Economics who served three terms was elected the last time contrary to the Law on Higher Education, which does not allow for two consecutive terms in office. He teaches seven hours a week, if you are to believe the University Bulletin. Minister of Education and Science Sreten Skuletic, former Vice Chancellor to Ljubisa Stankovic, still teaches six courses at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and is paid for 12 hours per week. Andrija Lompar, Minister of Transport holding a title of a docent, teaches five courses at the Faculty of Maritime Studies in Kotor, where, as stated in the University Bulletin, he has 15 teaching hours per week. Ivan Brajovic, SDP official and the new Minister of Internal Affairs and Public Administration, Civil Engineer by profession, was previously elected assistant professor at the Faculty of Civil Engineering, transport Department, where he is hired part-time to teach three hours.
Mujovic against kinship relations
Professors at the University of Montenegro say that it is a well-known fact that professors’ children come to work at faculties where their parents teach. Apart from their heirs, they also employ their daughters-in-law, sons-in-law, sisters-in-law, and this congregation of relatives, as they say, is most prevalent at the Faculty of Philosophy in Niksic. Competition, however, is not lacking. For example, at the Law Faculty in Podgorica, three long-term full professors have employed their children as assistant professors.
“When he was elected Minister of Internal Affairs, he informed us that in the future he will not be able to perform tasks at our Faculty”, said Dusko Lucic, Dean of the Faculty of Civil Engineering.
