CANTON SARAJEVO Eight requests for establishing private universities rejected in one year

SARAJEVO, (Patria) – Currently, the Ministry of Education of KS has three different requests for establishing higher education institutions in Canton Sarajevo. One request has been deemed complete by the Ministry and forwarded to the KS Government for consideration. The Minister of Education, Science, and Youth, Anis Krivić, confirmed for Patria that the KS Government has not yet considered this request.

The Syndicate of the University of Sarajevo reacted yesterday with a press release, stating that they oppose and consider unnecessary the establishment of private universities such as IUG, UBIS, and any other that lacks quality staff, strong infrastructure, and a clear strategy on how it would improve and enhance the quality of teaching and scientific research currently available at the University of Sarajevo.

Krivić provided an opinion for the "University of Business and International Studies" (UBIS), proposed by the Centre for Business Education (CEP) from Tuzla. The other two requests, including the International University "Progress," which, according to the Feasibility Study for its establishment, should include: Faculty of Law (with three departments), Faculty of Economics (with four departments), Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences (with two departments), and Faculty of Philological Sciences (with three departments)" and whose founder already owns the International University in Goražde, headed by Rector Hajriz Bećirović, were returned due to incomplete documentation.

"People and organizations have the right to submit a request. When they submit a request and it is complete, the Ministry of Education, Science, and Youth forwards it to the Government to assess whether there is justification for its establishment. However, this does not mean the Government establishes it, nor does it mean the Government approves its establishment. It goes through four different phases, coming before the executive and legislative authorities in KS four times," explained Minister Krivić.

The Law on Higher Education of KS also clearly specifies the procedure for establishing a higher education institution or organizational unit.

"If the Government makes a decision adopting the report of the expert commission with the feasibility study and the Ministry's recommendation to grant approval for the establishment of a higher education institution/organizational unit, the Government's decision is forwarded to the Assembly for consideration and decision. The Assembly makes the decision granting approval for the establishment of the higher education institution/organizational unit. If the Government does not accept the Ministry's recommendation and makes a decision not to adopt the expert commission's report, the Government's decision is final, and further proceedings are not carried out," states Article 16 of the Law on Higher Education of KS.

Article 17 stipulates that the decision of the KS Assembly on a submitted request must be made no later than four months from the date of submitting a complete request to the Ministry in accordance with this law. If the applicant does not receive approval from the KS Government or Assembly, they cannot submit a new request for establishment before the expiration of a five-year period.

"Two requests had incomplete documentation, and according to the Law on Higher Education, we returned the applications and stated what was missing. If they do not complete the request within 30 days, it will be considered as if the request was never submitted. The Government approves whether a certain founder will even enter the establishment process. Regardless of who submitted the request, if they meet the conditions, and the conditions are strict, you must acknowledge it as a serious request. The registration process requires the engagement of experts, academic staff from all the fields for which they are applying. To be a university, it must have multiple faculties, and it must prove everything from staff and premises, and state the number of students," said Krivić.

He also confirmed that in one year, there were eight requests for the establishment of private universities, and they were rejected because they did not meet the requirements during the registration process.

Even after registration, after obtaining a license and enrolling students, the Ministry of Education has the right to close it down, transfer students to a public university, and recover funds from the founder.

Speaking about the stance of the UNSA Syndicate, Krivić emphasized that 200 students will not endanger the University of Sarajevo and that he agrees that the public university should be strengthened.

"Thirty percent of BiH students are in Sarajevo. We have perfectly good mechanisms to protect both students and Canton Sarajevo," concluded Krivić, adding that private universities in KS (IUS, Burch, SSST) are achieving good results.