PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES UNDER SCRUTINY: How Accreditations Were Granted, Commission Members Appointed to HEA Management Board

By: A. Vrabac 

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At least two members of the Management Board of the Agency for Development of Higher Education and Quality Assurance of BiH were on commissions for evaluating and reviewing quality and giving recommendations on the accreditation of higher education institutions that are today the subject of investigative bodies in the operation “Cluster“.

Prof. Dr. Ivo Čolak was a member of the Commission in the accreditation process of the International University in Travnik, which gave an opinion that accreditation could be issued to this private university, which the Agency for Development of Higher Education did, and in November 2020, made a decision on accreditation.

Another member of the Agency's Management Board, Mitar Perušić, was a member of the Accreditation Commission of the College of Applied and Legal Sciences Prometej (Banja Luka), which is also under investigation for issuing and selling fake diplomas. Perušić is a professor at the public University of East Sarajevo.

Both Čolak and Perušić became members of the Agency's Management Board after the accreditation processes were completed.

Incidentally, Nedeljko Stanković, the owner of two private universities - the European University in Brčko, which is under investigation, and the European University Kallos in Tuzla - is also on the Agency's Management Board. His appointment was controversial because it indicated a conflict of interest, but politics was apparently stronger. 

The Agency for Development of Higher Education (HEA) issued a press release after the Cluster operation, stating that the Agency fully supports all activities of the competent authorities in uncovering and sanctioning all negative phenomena in higher education.

“Higher education in Bosnia and Herzegovina is an activity of special social interest, and any illegality committed by individual higher education institutions or individuals causes great damage to higher education and society as a whole. The Agency, within its powers and jurisdiction, will provide support and assistance to all competent authorities in the process of investigating and prosecuting responsible individuals and institutions. Combating corruption and crime in higher education is a necessary prerequisite for improving the quality of higher education, integrating Bosnia and Herzegovina into the European Higher Education Area, and achieving full membership in the European Union,” the Agency stated.

Following the operation carried out on the order of the BiH Prosecutor's Office at several private universities in Banja Luka, Brčko, Travnik, and Mostar, Milorad Dodik, president of SNSD, also commented.

“I support the work of the competent institutions to investigate this phenomenon to the end and punish those responsible. It is necessary to examine and determine the validity of diplomas from these private faculties on the basis of which certain employees in government institutions were hired, as well as to thoroughly examine diplomas from Travnik and Široki Brijeg on the basis of which individuals were employed.

However, the entire system of higher education, established in this way according to the Bologna Process, needs to be redefined. It was modeled according to the requirements of the European Union as part of the reforms they requested to be implemented, and by established rule, we were conditioned to receive certain funds from European funds. We need to enter into the process of verifying and re-licensing all private faculties towards which the public rightly holds a negative view,” said Dodik.

Incidentally, the Rectors' Conference yesterday awarded a plaque to Prof. Dr. Ivo Čolak, who is the Vice-Rector for Science and Development at the University of Mostar. The plaque was awarded for “outstanding work in the scientific, teaching, and professional fields, as well as for spreading the reputation of universities in BiH and the world“.

The University of Mostar is the only one from BiH whose diplomas are not problematic in neighboring Croatia, meaning Croatia does not issue an opinion on them as it does with diplomas from other universities. This university receives significant financial assistance from Croatia.

As reported by the portal studomat.ba, experts from Croatia were also members of the accreditation commissions at some of the problematic universities being investigated by the BiH Prosecutor's Office and SIPA.

According to data from the Agency for Science and Higher Education (AZVO) of Croatia, in the period from December 2004 to June 2022, 877 diplomas from six universities currently under investigation were recognized. Two of these six universities were evaluated by professors from Croatia. Branko Rafajac, a professor at the University of Rijeka, was a member of the Quality Evaluation Commission for the European University in Brčko. Regarding the International University of Travnik, Ivan Balta, a professor from the University of Osijek, was on the commission.

Yesterday, the Rectors' Conference, composed of rectors of public universities in BiH, was also held, where this operation was discussed, but there was no clear conclusion or stance, or it was not known to the public. The question for the rectors of public universities is how many of their professors participated in the accreditation procedures of private universities and whether there were any omissions.

The Rector of the University of Sarajevo, Rifat Škrijelj, recently told the media that accreditations were granted too easily to some private universities, which led to problems with the recognition of diplomas from BiH in Slovenia and Croatia, with the exception of the University of Mostar.

Due to the new situation and possible upcoming checks on how certain universities in BiH obtained accreditations and are included in the investigation, some members of the Agency's Management Board should have withdrawn from further work in the Agency's Management Board.

Members of the Management Board of the Agency from the Serb people are Prof. Dr. Mitar Perušić, Prof. Dr. Nedeljko Stanković, and Zorana Štaka. From the Bosniak people, Prof. Dr. Dženita Ljuca, Prof. Dr. Sanjin Kodrić, and Dr. Suad Kunosić. From the Croat people, Prof. Dr. Luciana Boban, Prof. Dr. Ivo Čolak, and Dr. Marko Odak. From the Others, Prof. Dr. Dino Mujkić.