UNSA Gold Badges still without funds for doctoral studies, Uk and Minister Bošković ignore them, they will gather in front of the Government of Canton Sarajevo

(Patria) - Recipients of the Gold Badge award from the University of Sarajevo have still not received the funds from the public call issued in July this year for co-financing doctoral studies, and they covered the enrollment costs themselves.

The list of recipients of funds under the Public Call has never been published. The new Minister of Higher Education, Dušanka Bošković, assumed office on October 15, but aside from telling Patria that the Gold Badges are a priority, nothing has changed.

No one from the Ministry responds to inquiries from the group of students with the highest recognition, nor does the Prime Minister of Canton Sarajevo, Nihad Uk.

This morning, the students sent an email to media outlets stating that they will not stop fighting for their rights.

"Just to inform you that our group is now expanding, from a few university employees, we have also come across the names of others.

We will not stop fighting for our right, which is certainly ridiculous and insufficient, but it is the only one we have, and you have denied us even that, Prime Minister and Minister. If necessary, if we do not see progress by the end of this week, we will organize a gathering in front of the Government building, because you have completely ignored us, and now you are ignoring us," the Gold Badges state.

The last contracts for co-financing the costs of the third cycle of studies were signed in January 2024 with 29 recipients of the Gold Badge, for which 203,300 KM was allocated.

Incidentally, in this Ministry, since the arrest of the now former Minister Adna Mesihović and her assistant Dženita Viteškić, chaos has reigned, and this public call is not the only problem. The Prosecutor's Office of Canton Sarajevo recently conducted a continuation of the "Envelope" operation, carrying out new searches in this Ministry related to certain payments. Whether the money for the Gold Badges was redirected to other projects and fees is something no one is answering at this moment.

A particular problem is the conditions at the Public Institution Student Center, where students from other cantons studying at the University of Sarajevo reside. The dormitories lack basic living conditions, bills are piling up, and the students are suffering.