Opposition MP: Reducing University Teachers’ Salaries Is Against the Law

Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad(BETAPHOTO/DRAGAN GOJIC)

Vladimir Pajic, a member of the Serbian parliament from the Free Citizens Movement, said on March 26 that a decree by the caretaker government in Serbia that changed the way university teachers' salaries are calculated was against the Law on higher education and represented a direct attack on the independence of universities.

"After doing away with salaries for teachers in elementary and high schools, now it is the universities' turn, where the decree has determined that teachers will get less than 15 percent of their earlier salaries. The government is thus attempting to stifle the revolt within the university caused by its own refusal to meet the four student demands," Pajic said.

Pajic said the damage inflicted by the decree would be lasting and immeasurable. "The decree changing the ratio of teaching to scientific activity significantly threatens scientific research and the fulfillment of obligations in international projects. Furthermore, this decision seriously jeopardizes carrying out accredited doctoral programs as science research cannot be adequately performed in five hours per week," he said. The March 24 government decree has assigned 35 hours of University teachers and fellows' 40-hour work week to teaching activity and five to scientific or art research. The previous ratio was 20 to 20 hours.

According to him, in the long term, this decree could have a damaging impact on the development of society, given that the University, with a tradition of over 200 years as a seat of knowledge and progress, bases its teaching work on scientific research.