For visiting professors more than a million a year

Larger allocations are needed to improve the quality of higher education.

In the previous academic year 2017/2018 at the University of Banja Luka, a sum of 1,240,320 convertible marks was allocated from the budget for 182 visiting professors, while the monthly fee is 103,360 KM. These are the data confirmed by the Rectorate.

Despite the data from the website of the RS Employment Service, the unemployment rate in the Republika Srpska since 2010. until 2018 decreases, and the number of unemployed PhDs is growing, the University points out that there is a need for visiting professors.

“When we talk about the professional qualifications of professors who are engaged as visiting professors, we are talking about doctors of science, with elections to the titles of assistant professor, associate or full professor,” the Rectorate said.

Despite the growing number of unemployed people at the Employment Bureau, who have the title of doctor of science, and the need for new professional staff, we talked about the reasons for hiring visiting professors with professors employed at faculties at the University of Banja Luka.

The Bologna process requires exchange

According to the words of the professor of the Faculty of Political Sciences (FPN), Djordja Vukovic, the University is evaluated, among other things, based on how open it is for visiting professors. The exchange of professors and teachers is normal, natural and welcome.

“The law insists that we have postgraduate and doctoral studies, not because the University wants to be a wasteful person, but because those rules are required by law and the tendencies of the Bologna Declaration. In order to be licensed, a faculty must have doctoral studies. Associate or full professors must teach in doctoral studies, and many profiles do not have that staff. The concept of an integrated university requires constant changes and the arrival of professors “, said Vukovic.

The professors agree on one thing – There is not enough domestic staff

Vitomir Popović, a professor at the Faculty of Law at the University of Banja Luka, says that there has been a period when they are facing the issue of staff, and not only at the Faculty of Law.

“The problem is if you do not have adequate or good staff, then students will not enroll, nor will they be part of such a system,” said Popovic.

There are no domestic staff for many areas, said Vukovic, and the same opinion is shared by Ivan Sijakovic, also a professor at FPN.

Commenting on the increase in the number of unemployed doctors of science, Sijakovic warns that there are limiting factors here.

“If these people are doctors of science, they must have papers published in professional journals. If they don’t have that, then they can’t get that job because of that. Another thing, since it is a state institution, it is difficult to hire new staff on a permanent basis. “

Šijaković says that the University may therefore prefer to choose foreign staff who will work for 1000 Euros for the whole semester, rather than domestic staff who ask for so much in one month.

“At FPN, we were looking for new assistant professors and assistants, but the answer was that there were no funds. The state faculty allows the advancement of existing staff, but it is difficult to accept new ones “, said Šijaković.

Vukovic had a similar comment, saying that there are not enough assistants in the study program “Political Science”, and the Institute for Social Research, where the best students from FPN are employed, has even been closed down.

More educational staff is needed, and the fact that it is set aside for visiting professors is small in relation to where all the money is spent, said Popović.

“Look at the 4 vice presidents of the National Assembly, who need 4 vice presidents today. At 500,000, that’s 2 million. Who needs that? ”Popović wondered.

Policy involvement in the recruitment of staff to colleges

Ivan Šijaković and Vitomir Popović agree that politics “covered the University” and that it directly affects employment.

“They would like the ones they produced overnight to be top professors, and they can’t do that. It is our misfortune, education used to be autonomous, but now it is not. It is now directly under politics, that is the problem “, said Popović.

On the other hand, Vukovic says that as far as the connection between politics and employees at the Faculty of Political Sciences is concerned – politics cannot bring someone to work at the faculty, but only his references can bring him.

“Lecturers like Srdjan Trifkovic have an international reputation, he is glad to be seen from America to Russia, and he has an indisputable expertise. On the other hand, I am of the opinion that some employees at the Faculty have stepped into political life too much, which I do not support. “A university professor must nurture critical thinking, be outside the party, be critically oriented towards the ruling tendencies, and defend a part of the intellectual community with his activities in society, which is usually not the case, because most professors are close to the government,” Vukovic said.

2019 more optimistic for educators

At the beginning of this year, the Government of the Republika Srpska passed the Decision on the price of labor and thus determined an increase in the salary of employees in education and culture with a university degree by eight percent.

“In 2019, 22 million KM is planned to increase salaries,” said Natalija Trivić, Minister of Education and Culture.

On the other hand, the Rectorate says that out of a total of 182, as many as were engaged in the last academic year, 40 of them will not be engaged in this academic year in the first and second cycle of studies. In the third cycle and all other specialist studies, visiting professors are still needed.

The story was published as part of the USAID-funded IMEP Press Support Program

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