Plan failed: Halilović rejected the request for the transfer of three female employees to the Ministry of Higher Education

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The Ministry of Science, Higher Education and Youth of Sarajevo Canton has published an internal advertisement for the employment of 14 workers in this ministry. The advertisement was published in accordance with the decision made on February 5 at an emergency session of the Government of Sarajevo Canton.

Minister Melika Husić-Mehmedović stated that the Ministry will be filled by taking over employees from other institutions and ministries. 

Thus, on the same day, February 5, Husić-Mehmedović requested from the Agency for Development of Higher Education and Quality Assurance of Bosnia and Herzegovina to approve the transfer of state employees from the Agency to the Ministry of Science, Higher Education and Youth of Sarajevo Canton, based on a direct agreement of the heads and with the consent of the state employees. 

In the letter she sent to the Agency, Husić-Mehmedović states that these employees applied to the Ministry to establish an employment relationship. It remains unclear how the employees applied when the Government of Sarajevo Canton gave consent on February 5 to announce the competition, unless it was a prior agreement between Minister Husić-Mehmedović and these state employees. 

Letter from Husić-Mehmedović sent on February 5, when the Government also approved the employment of 14 employees in the Ministry 

The request for transfer concerns the employees: Marina Cicović, graduate biologist, employed as a professional advisor for quality assurance in the Quality Assurance Sector, Jelena Šantić Stefanoska, professor of sociology, employed as a senior professional associate for higher education in the Higher Education Development Sector, and Jasmina Muminović, graduate lawyer, employed as a senior professional associate for legal and personnel affairs in the Legal, Personnel, Financial and General Affairs Sector. 

The Director of the Agency for Development of Higher Education and Quality Assurance of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Enver Halilović, confirmed to the Patria News Agency that he did not give consent for the transfer of these state employees.

„The cantonal ministry of education submitted a request for the agreed transfer and takeover of three state employees from the Agency to the Ministry of Higher Education of Sarajevo Canton. The requests were also submitted individually by the Agency's employees. I replied to the Minister of Sarajevo Canton by email that I do not give consent for the requested transfers/takeovers. I replied to the employees, each individually, that they do not have consent for the transfer“, says Halilović in his response to Patria. 

Husić-Mehmedović came to the position of Minister of Higher Education on the proposal of independent representative Damir Marjanović. One of the first moves was the formation of a Commission for drafting a new Law on Higher Education of Sarajevo Canton and the Law on Scientific Research Activities. 

The very formation of the Commission sparked polemics and discontent within the academic community, given that all private universities in the area of Sarajevo Canton (SSST, Burch, IUS) had one representative each, while, for example, the Faculty of Law in Sarajevo did not have a representative, which was later corrected. 

It is also unclear by what criteria the members of the Commission were chosen on behalf of the University of Sarajevo, as this was not discussed nor was the proposal before the Senate of the University of Sarajevo. The Commission also has no representative from the Union of the University of Sarajevo.

Although after the formation of the Commission we requested data from these three private universities on the number of enrolled students in the last three years, as well as the number of graduated students, we did not receive responses from any of them.