Today one faculty is under attack
“This decision represents an unprecedented precedent in the recent history of higher education in Serbia and a direct blow to the autonomy of the university, academic freedoms, and the institutional integrity of one of the most important educational institutions in the country. There can be no doubt that this measure is politically motivated and aims to pressure students and faculty to leave the Faculty of Philosophy and transfer to the newly established so-called 'Faculty of Serbian Studies' in order to subsequently legitimize that project. This is a crude attempt at administrative engineering of the academic space, in which educational policy is subordinated to daily political interests,” they stated on their Instagram profile.
TL;DR
- The Free University of Kragujevac condemns the Ministry's decision to revoke permits for eight study programs at the University of Niš's Faculty of Philosophy, effectively closing the History, Serbian Studies, and Russian Language and Literature departments.
- This decision is described as an unprecedented, politically motivated attack on university autonomy, academic freedom, and institutional integrity.
- The move is seen as an attempt to pressure students and faculty to move to a newly established 'Faculty of Serbian Studies'.
- The Free University of Kragujevac demands the immediate withdrawal of the decision, respect for university autonomy, and a public stance from all Serbian universities in defense of academic values.
- They urge the academic community, students, and the public not to accept the normalization of such pressures, emphasizing that universities should be spaces for free thought, not political instruments.