CEREMONY IN THE CITY HALL UNSA Rector Tarik Zaimović assumed office

(Patria) - The solemn inauguration of the new Rector of the University of Sarajevo (UNSA) Prof. Dr. Tarik Zaimović was held in the City Hall, the place where the University was founded in 1949, the first rector was elected and inaugurated.

The solemn inauguration was attended by a large number of guests from academic life, as well as the Prime Minister of Sarajevo Canton Nihad Uk, Minister of Justice and Administration Darja Softić-Kadenić, Speaker of the Assembly Elvedin Okerić, and members of the academic community, including former UNSA rectors.

Former Rector Rifat Škrijelj handed over the appointment decision to Dr. Tarik Zaimović. After the solemn handover, Tarik Zaimović also addressed the attendees.

He emphasized that the development path of the University of Sarajevo has not been easy, but that they are bravely continuing in the next period.

“75 years of work are behind all of us. The development path has not been easy,” said Zaimović, N1 reports.

Let us remind you, at the beginning of July, the University of Sarajevo elected a new rector, and it was planned that Prof. Dr. Tarik Zaimović would hold this position for the next four years, as decided by the Senate in a secret ballot in the second round. However, on Friday, September 27, an inspection decision arrived ordering UNSA to annul the Senate's decision on the election of the rector and annul the competition within 10 days.

After the Cantonal Administration for Inspection Affairs of Sarajevo Canton, the Inspectorate of the Educational Inspection, delivered the decision to the Rectorate on September 27, 2024, with an order to annul the election of the rector, an extraordinary session of the UNSA Senate was held, where it was unanimously voted (36 members) that the Senate stands by its decision from July and the election of Tarik Zaimović as the rector of the University.

The Prime Minister of Sarajevo Canton, Nihad Uk, also spoke to the media about this today.

“Institutions will, in the coming period, state whether everything was done correctly or not. I am attending here today out of respect for the University. These are processes that are still ongoing. Yesterday, there was a Senate session, they made certain conclusions. They arrived at the protocol of the KS Government. Everything will be in accordance with the law. Nothing should tarnish the reputation of the University of Sarajevo. This is about an anonymous complaint. We must not tarnish the reputation of the University, regardless of where the obstruction comes from,” said Uk.

Rifat Škrijelj, who has led UNSA since 2016, also addressed the media.

“It is not good to describe Bosnian society in its real form during these solemn moments; it is better to embellish it. I want to thank everyone who contributed to making the University better than when I took it over. The media are a serious corrective force in society. I have benefited greatly from the articles. Regarding the University, we inaugurated the 20th rector. It makes me happy that we are in the place where the University was formed and where the first rector was honored. Today, in the 21st century, we are on par with European universities. We are increasingly a meeting place for rectors from universities around the world. In BiH, official policies constantly talk about conflicts, possible conflicts, political uncertainty. This drives young people away from BiH. Young people need to return openly; we need to preserve the potential for the development of this country,” said Škrijelj.

Finally, the new rector Tarik Zaimović gave a statement to the media.

“Overall social responsibility is something we need to strengthen. It's not just commentary; it's also a scientific approach. In the past period, we were silent when difficult topics were discussed. The University must have an active role, but that is exclusively based on scientific findings,” said Zaimović.

He also commented on the annulment of the competition.

“The Senate elects and dismisses the rector. Neither the government nor the inspection does that. The Senate completed its procedure in accordance with the law in June. I only applied for the competition. Now all of this regarding my election is on my shoulders. We have already informed the KS Government. The inspector determines whether they deviated from the decision, not whether they have an opinion on what the legal solutions would be. We must respect the regulations. We will wait for the procedure to be completed. There have been many untruths about me. I will not comment on individual articles. It all started with connecting me with cartels and other nonsense. The right to vote is determined by law,” said Zaimović.