OPERATION "CLUSTER" Prometej from Banja Luka and Victoria University Mostar removed from the list of accredited higher education institutions

(Patria) - The Agency for Development of Higher Education and Quality Assurance of BiH has removed the College of Applied and Legal Sciences "Prometej" and the University of Modern Sciences - CKM Mostar, i.e. "VICTORIA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY", from the list of accredited higher education institutions in BiH.

Prometej was first registered in the State Register of Accredited Higher Education Institutions in BiH in 2016 with a validity period of five years. In the meantime, it submitted a request for re-accreditation, and in 2021, it received a new decision for certain study programs. Although both of these higher education institutions submitted a request for re-accreditation, as confirmed for Patria, the requests were incomplete and late.

For now, both institutions have been removed from the List of Accredited Higher Education Institutions, while the procedure for removal from the State Register of Accredited Higher Education Institutions is somewhat slower.

CKM, i.e. VIKTORIA International University, was registered in the State Register in 2020 with a validity period of four years. Given the rejected re-accreditation request, the conditions were met for it to be removed from the list of accredited institutions, which the Agency did on March 6.

Incidentally, both of these institutions are covered by the "Cluster" operation, which was carried out in February 2023 by the BiH Prosecutor's Office with the help of SIPA, whose undercover investigators obtained multiple diplomas from higher education institutions for money, without ever having studied.

The investigation involved several universities, faculties, and colleges, and the operation was conducted throughout 2022, and even in early February 2024. A large amount of money was seized during the searches, suspected to be from the sale of diplomas.

The BiH Prosecutor's Office stated for Patria in February this year that additional time is needed for the investigation.

"The case related to the 'Cluster' operation is ongoing, additional activities have recently been carried out, as the prosecution and partner agencies in working on the case are obtaining new information and findings about possible irregularities, which we cannot and do not want to ignore. Therefore, it will take some time to carry out activities until a prosecutorial decision is made, in the near future. The case involves a larger number of suspects," the BiH Prosecutor's Office stated in response to Patria's inquiry.

For years, SIPA undercover investigators collected information at these universities under the guise of students, who, for a monetary amount, obtained not one, not two, but three university diplomas without ever attending lectures or fulfilling other obligations. Thus, in just a few months, investigators obtained three different diplomas from three different universities. Money for the diplomas was given through intermediaries, and within a few months, they received diplomas "by hand". The registration books were subsequently altered to "retroactively show the enrollment of students" who had never actually studied.

These are private universities in Brčko, Banja Luka, Travnik, Mostar. They were mostly accredited in 2020 and 2021, and the commissions included professors, two of whom would later become members of the Management Board of the Agency for Development of Higher Education and Quality Assurance, and one is even the owner of two universities under investigation.

As reported in the media, the investigation includes deans and other employees of higher education institutions Zoran Kalinić, Vaso Pajić, Vladimir Stojanović, Vojislav Škrbić, Denis Pračić, Dragan Ilić, Goran Lalović, Dušan Perić, Ljubiša Todorović. Among the higher education institutions are the Independent University of Banja Luka (NUBL), the University of Business Studies (UPS) Banja Luka, the College of Applied and Legal Sciences "Prometej" Banja Luka, the Pan-European University "Apeiron" and the University of Business Engineering and Management (PIM) Banja Luka, the University of Travnik and the International University Travnik, the newly formed Victoria International University from Mostar, created in 2023 by the unification of the University of Modern Sciences CKM Mostar and the College "Union" Mostar, and, from Brčko District, the European University.

Given that the owners of the removed universities are close to the ruling parties, pressure on the Agency for Development of Higher Education and Quality Assurance of BiH is expected.

Incidentally, changes to the members of the Management Board of the Agency, elected by the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH for a three-year term with the possibility of re-election, are expected soon.

You can see the list of accredited higher education institutions HERE