CSG soon in KS Assembly, but 14,000 KM from budget for foreign expert?

SARAJevo, (Patria) – The Constitutional Court of FBiH ruling that declared the Law on Amendments to the Law on Organization and Scope of Administrative Bodies and Administrative Organizations of Sarajevo Canton unconstitutional and ceased to be valid on March 12th has halted processes in three ministries affected by the ruling.  

We remind you that by this Law, two ministries were merged into one, and one was split into two.

Due to this legal vacuum, activities on drafting the new Law on Higher Education of KS have also been halted. Although Prime Minister Edin Forto announced that the draft of the new law would be presented to the KS Assembly at the first May session, this will not happen. The session is scheduled for May 5th, and the agenda includes the confirmation of three disputed ministers after the Law was re-adopted on April 7th.

We asked the Minister of Science, Higher Education, and Youth, Melika Husić-Mehmedović, about the Law and when it might be put into procedure.

“The Ministry of Science, Higher Education, and Youth is still not operational, and the confirmation of my appointment will be on May 5th. Only then, after two months of blockade, will we continue with all activities. I am exclusively announcing to you that on the first working day, May 6th, the commission president, academician Trifković, will officially hand me the completed Law. We will immediately proceed with the procedure, public consultations, the Government, and the draft will go to the Assembly,” says Husić-Mehmedović.

When asked about the main changes in this law compared to the one from 2017 and what the benefits will be for the academic community, staff, and students, if they are included, Husić-Mehmedović says:

“The Law is different from the existing one because it focuses on higher education, not institutions. A step forward has been made, and I believe we will get a modern law that will last at least 10 years without the need for revision. I also expect a lot from the public debate, which we have also designed in a completely different way, but I will be able to clarify those details after May 10th.”

Given that the engagement of Austrian expert Achim Hopbach in drafting the law, for which 14,000 KM was allocated from the KS Budget, was previously problematized, we asked the minister if she managed to secure funds in another way, as she had previously announced.

“Consultant Dr. Hopbach was involved in the work, and will continue to be, and will be able to participate himself in clarifications during the public debate. His key role is to enable us easier access to ENQA, the European accreditation space, through proposed legal solutions. I am still negotiating with a potential financier for this engagement. Unfortunately, at least 15 institutions have refused financial assistance. However, the Ministry is prepared to finance this expertise through numerous savings we have made because we have not hired new people on the Ministry's budget,” she said.

She emphasizes that she is committed to not spending money on unnecessary things, not hiring new people in the administration, but when there is a strategic project and an opportunity for qualitative progress, funds should be found.