Šaljić asks the Government of Sarajevo Canton: If there is no money for scholarships, where did the budget funds go?

(Patria) - Sarajevo Canton (KS) has not paid a single scholarship in 2026 to students who are beneficiaries of the IKRE Foundation, said Jasmin Šaljić (SBiH), a representative in the Sarajevo Canton Assembly, for the Patria News Agency (NAP).

Šaljić says that high school seniors have already finished their education, and that classes for other students will end in seven days.

Nevertheless, the scholarships intended for them were not paid during the school year - precisely when they were most needed for basic schooling costs, snacks, school supplies, and other needs.

Our interlocutor emphasizes that Sarajevo Canton today owes students as many as five scholarships!

- Scholarships for students are not a luxury, but budget-allocated funds for education and assistance to students and parents - says Šaljić.

He further states that, according to information available to parents and his own representative checks, the competent Ministry for Veterans' Affairs has issued an order for the payment of three scholarships.

However, the funds have not been transferred for months. And the explanation is that - there is no money.

- What is particularly concerning is that this is the second consecutive year of delayed payments in the 34-year history of the Foundation. The precedent from last year has become practice. All this is happening in a year when the KS budget amounts to a record two billion KM.

Parents and students are rightly outraged. During the school year, they bore numerous costs, including those related to graduation, and the promised help did not arrive when it was most needed - emphasizes Šaljić.

Often, he explains, the reasons cited are political circumstances and the fact that the KS Government is in resignation. However, Šaljić adds, the status of a technical mandate cannot and must not be an excuse for failing to fulfill obligations towards children and students, as well as other beneficiaries of allowances.

- If there is no money for scholarships and other budget-planned obligations, where have those funds been reallocated? Did they end up on other items, or is the budget not being filled according to plan, meaning it is unrealistic and inflated, just as the opposition warned.

It is interesting how, in resignation, they are not prompt in paying scholarships and other allowances that are also delayed, but they are very prompt in burdening the canton and citizens in resignation and technical mandate with a dizzying 117 million KM - concludes Šaljić in a statement to NAP.