BiH Prosecutor's Office has been investigating fake diplomas at universities for a year, no indictments yet

(Patria) - Twelve months ago, the Cluster operation was carried out at 18 locations in BiH, searches of higher education institutions in several BiH cities were conducted, and to date, no indictment has been filed nor has the investigation been concluded.

Follow-up actions to the operation were also conducted in December 2023 and January 2024.

Even a year after the operation, the BiH Prosecutor's Office is not providing concrete information.

"The case related to the 'Cluster' operation is ongoing, and additional activities were recently carried out because the prosecution and partner agencies working on the case are obtaining new information and findings about possible irregularities, which we cannot and do not wish to ignore. Therefore, it will take some time to carry out activities until a prosecutorial decision is made, in the near future. A larger number of suspects are involved in the case," stated the BiH Prosecutor's Office in response to Patria's inquiry.

Although it was expected that some universities would lose their operating licenses, as undercover SIPA investigators obtained fake diplomas in a short period, this did not happen. Money, documentation, student files, registration books, and records were seized during the operations. Initially, 450,000 KM were found during the searches, which are reasonably suspected to originate from the sale of diplomas.

For years, undercover SIPA investigators collected information at these universities under the guise of students, who, for a sum of money, obtained not one, not two, but three university diplomas without ever attending lectures or fulfilling other obligations. Thus, in just a few months, the investigators received three different diplomas from three different universities. The money for the diplomas was paid through intermediaries, and within a few months, they received the diplomas 'by hand'. Registration books were later altered to 'retroactively show student enrollment'. However, by tracing the money, it is clear that these individuals were never actually enrolled.

These are private universities in Brčko, Banja Luka, Travnik, and Mostar. They were mostly accredited in 2020 and 2021, and their accreditation commissions included professors, two of whom later became members of the Management Board of the Agency for Development of Higher Education and Quality Assurance, and one is even the owner of two universities under investigation.

As reported in the media, the investigation includes deans and other employees of higher education institutions Zoran Kalinić, Vaso Pajić, Vladimir Stojanović, Vojislav Škrbić, Denis Pračić, Dragan Ilić, Goran Lalović, Dušan Perić, Ljubiša Todorović. Among the higher education institutions are the Independent University of Banja Luka (NUBL), the University of Business Studies (UPS) Banja Luka, the College of Applied and Legal Sciences “Prometej” Banja Luka, the Pan-European University “Apeiron” and the University of Business Engineering and Management (PIM) Banja Luka, the University of Travnik and the International University Travnik, the newly formed Viktoria International University, Mostar, created in 2023 by the merger of the University of Modern Sciences CKM Mostar and the College “Union” Mostar, and from Brčko District, the European University.

The State Register of Accredited Higher Education Institutions in BiH, maintained by the Agency for Development of Higher Education and Quality Assurance of BiH (HEA BiH), contains a total of 38 higher education institutions, of which 20 are from FBiH, 15 from RS, and three from Brčko District. According to Patria's information, despite the investigation, some of these universities are in the process of reaccreditation.

The state agency's responsibilities include, among other things, determining criteria and making recommendations for accreditation, maintaining a register of accredited faculties and universities, establishing quality standards for studies, as well as representing BiH in international quality organizations, essentially everything that the RS entity has subsequently regulated with its own law.

However, the RS Agency for Higher Education is conducting parallel processes, despite the decision of the Constitutional Court of BiH, which at its session on September 29, 2023, annulled about ten articles and points of the Law on Quality Assurance in Higher Education of Republika Srpska, adopted in 2020, because they are contrary to the Constitution of BiH and the state Framework Law on Education, adopted in 2007.

Education is indeed within the jurisdiction of the entities in Republika Srpska, ten cantons in the Federation of BiH, and Brčko District as a separate administrative unit. However, the state Agency for the Development of Higher Education was established in 2008, one year after the Framework Law on Higher Education adopted in 2007, with clearly defined responsibilities.

The RS entity established its Agency for Higher Education in 2011.

Given the Framework Law at the BiH level, laws at lower levels should be adapted. However, in this case, the RS Agency for Higher Education operated concurrently with the state agency, submitted applications for membership in international organizations, and represented the entity abroad, which caused confusion among numerous European partners.

The Constitutional Court of BiH annulled provisions that allowed the entity agency for higher education to recommend the issuance of operating licenses to higher education institutions and to conduct the accreditation process for faculties and study programs, and to prescribe quality assurance standards. However, this agency states that it will continue its work and will not comply with the decisions of the Constitutional Court of BiH.

"Since its establishment in 2011, the Agency has faced permanent attempts to challenge its competencies in the field of quality assurance in higher education and transfer them to the level of Bosnia and Herzegovina institutions, and this political decision of the Constitutional Court represents a continuation of these attempts. By consistently applying legal acts and international standards in this field, the Agency has, despite everything, positioned itself in the European Higher Education Area as a respectable institution in the field of quality assurance, as evidenced by the Agency's achievements internationally and its memberships in ENQA (associate member), CEENQA, and INQAHEE. In the coming period, the Agency will continue to carry out its activities in accordance with the laws and regulations of Republika Srpska and BiH, and international standards in the field of quality assurance," the Agency announced on September 29.

The Constitutional Court of BiH also annulled provisions of the law concerning the entity agency conducting the process of recognition of foreign qualifications (diplomas), and this service is still offered on their official website.