Writes: Aleksandra Obradović
In an interview with CdM, education minister Damir Šehović said no decision in the Ministry of Education had ever been made without thorough examination, and he stressed Montenegro has been allocating the largest amount of funds on education. Šehović also underlined the Ministry has been trying hard to improve position of its staff.
Here’s the full interview with minister Šehović…
CdM: You’ve heard about the recommendation of the Defender of Human Rights and Freedoms, Snežana Mijušković, saying that the Ministry of Education should revise the decision on financing Islamic school and ballet school “Princess Ksenija”. You know the public and many education workers believe that 500,000 you provide for the above-mentioned schools is too much, and that those funds can be used for improving work conditions in schools and increasing salaries of employees in schools. What do you think about this?
Šehović: Every decision made by the Ministry of Education was based on thorough and systematic analysis. This also refers to religious schools, which represent specific category, as well as to several private schools of various profiles, having special role in our society.
However, regardless of certain government’s decisions in terms of financing any of those schools, I have to underline the fact that the state allocates the largest amount of funds exactly on education! Not because we have a lot of money but because we’re aware the investment in knowledge pays the best interest.
Only last year, the Ministry of Education invested €1,700,000 in school infrastructure, whereas this year’s budget rose by 20%.
We also have close cooperation with the trade union and we want to improve position of education workers. We have allocated large amount of money for resolving their housing issues and introduced awards for best teachers, and searched ways to increase their salaries via sector collective agreement.
CdM: Is there a real possibility for increasing salaries of education workers?
Šehović: We have been trying to improve their position in various ways. We allocated funds for resolving their housing issues (in the amount of €600,000) which is a lot of money, you would agree. You know that education workers were not fired after the reform even though many of them should have been. You are also familiar with the fact we had a meeting with the trade union and we concluded our cooperation had been very good, and after the meeting we agreed to establish a working group, which would prepare amendments to the sector collective agreement (in the field of education). We also agreed to award jubilee grants. If you ask me, it’s obvious we have been tackling all the open issues in education and we won’t neglect any of it.
CdM: Are you satisfied with the outcomes of the reform?
Šehović: The reform made some serious cuts and we haven’t expected the public to be silent about it. General impressions are that we’ve made some very significant improvements, including free bachelor and master studies, mandatory practice in all faculties and establishing the Fund for Talents, introduction of the English language in kindergartens, solving assistants’ issues and introduction of the dual education system.
The dual education system, which means a student simultaneously works and learns, now includes around 500 pupils and almost 200 employers and we’ve been waiting for this for a decade.
What’s even more important – there are no more prejudices about vocational schools as even the best pupils attend them, being aware they actually offer valuable knowledge and great business opportunities. Therefore, we can say the reform has been quite fruitful.
CdM: Media, opposition and unsatisfied education workers often claim you are not quite prone to merit-based recruitment. What do you say about this?
Šehović: I have around 13,000 employees and that is why I have constant communication with numerous candidates who applied for several hundreds managerial positions in schools. It’s totally legitimate to have someone not being satisfied with his/her position.
I also have legitimate right to select a person whom I believe is the most eligible for a specific position and you must be aware you can’t meet everybody’s needs and expectations.
CdM: Are there any novelties the Ministry plans for future?
Šehović: We’ll continue investing in school infrastructure and we strive to strengthen vocational schools even more, and along with the newly-established Agency for Control and Quality Assurance of Higher Education, we will be devoted to upgrading higher education system.
Our first step toward improvements is the Fund for Talents, established based on the legislative reform. In this regard, we are going to launch a campaign and all decisions will be made in cooperation with the representatives of the Trade Union, CANU and other serious partners. Some children will be granted up to €2,000 worth award and we will have to be careful.
There will be far more job to do, that’s for sure.
