Political Control: SDA Abolishes Autonomy of the University of Tuzla

The Tuzla Canton Assembly majority, comprising SDA and SBB with votes from the Party for BiH and BPS, adopted the Law on Higher Education at the beginning of June, proposed by the Tuzla Canton Government, which effectively stripped the University of Tuzla of its autonomy.

The caucuses of DF and SDP BiH, who voted against the Law, also warned of this, reports the BiH news agency Patria.

At the beginning of September, using the same method (votes of the ruling majority), amendments to the Law on Higher Education were adopted at an extraordinary session of the TK Assembly, finally placing politics in control of all processes at the University of Tuzla. 

These amendments enable direct political influence on the election of the University's rector, and the method of electing members of the Management Board, the majority of whom are appointed by the Government, has also been changed. Without the Management Board, the Senate cannot appoint the rector. Without the consent of the thus elected rector, the scientific-teaching or scientific-artistic councils will not be able to appoint deans of public higher education institutions.

Before the adoption of the Law, the Senate of the University of Tuzla warned that this would lead to the closure of the University of Tuzla, that it was politicization, and that the Government wanted to control financial flows and abolish the academic independence of the University. 

We remind you that the TK Government hastily issued operating permits to private universities, and according to the same Law, the Assembly can even establish a university with any private university, company, or individual. The Prime Minister of TK, Bego Gutić (SDA), obtained his master's degree from the Travnik University, to which he issued an operating permit.

And the Speaker of the TK Assembly, Senad Alić, is a postgraduate student at the private Kallos University. Whether one of these two universities will "take over" the University of Tuzla remains to be seen.

The academic community claimed that the law was created in secret and without their consultation. The now former rector, Aida Crnkić, submitted her resignation, which was accepted by the Management Board only after the adoption of the Law amendments. The Management Board appointed Samir Nurić, an SDA cadre, as acting rector. Nurić has been a member of the Supervisory Board of the Banovići mine for years, extremely close to Mirsad Kukić, the head of KO SDA Tuzla and Vice-President of SDA. Nurić is a professor at the Faculty of Mining, Geology, and Civil Engineering.

Zekan: Less and less budget money for financing the University

Sabid Zekan, a professor at the Faculty of Mining, Geology, and Civil Engineering in Tuzla and a DF representative in the TK Assembly, told Patria that the culmination of accumulated problems at the University has occurred in the last few months.

- There is less and less budget money for financing the University. Recently, the University has escaped the control of the ruling parties. The Government made amendments to the Law, and thus dismissed the rector, the Senate, vice-rectors... - says Zekan.

Allegedly, the goal of the TK Government is to rectify the poor situation at the University. A Management Board under the control of the authorities has been appointed, and they appoint deans. Interim deans appoint members of the Senate, who were previously elected by secret ballot, which will no longer be the practice.

Zekan believes that the authorities are creating a kind of semi-privatization of the University of Tuzla and that all the resources of the University of Tuzla could be brought under control in the foreseeable future.

He also says that a situation similar to that of some industrial giants could happen to the University of Tuzla.

- We do not have a single institute, and every university has one. Scientific research work is more formal and is the result of professors' enthusiasm. Professors are overloaded with teaching, and there are many students - says Zekan.