University School Heads: Gov’t Decree Attempt to Punish Supporters of Student Protests

Serbian Government building (BETAPHOTO/NENAD PETROVIC)

Voja Radovanovic, the dean of the University of Belgrade's Faculty of Physics, said on March 26 that a government decree cutting scientific research hours "could be interpreted as an attempt to punish the teachers and fellows who have supported their students."

"The government distributes funds collected from all Serbian citizens, and this matter indicates that there will be no money for those they deem 'undesirable.' I have to ask if these decisions are always made in this way. Furthermore, jurists have pointed out that this decree may be unconstitutional as a caretaker government may not bring regulations," Radovanovic told the Politika daily.

He recalled that a March 24 decree assigned 35 hours out of University teachers and fellows' 40-hour work week to teaching activity and five hours to scientific or art research. Prior to this decree, the ratio was 20 to 20 hours. Goran Roglic, the dean of the University of Belgrade's Faculty of Chemistry, told Politika that the idea behind the decree had been to justify paying teaching faculty 12.5 percent of their salaries, but that it would be short-lived and had elicited the opposite effect with most deans.