An open student forum was recently organized in Podgorica, where students had the opportunity to debate with guests, answer some questions, reflect on the past, talk about the present and with a dose of undefined anticipation imagine future. The guests were Prof. Dr. Đorđije Blazić, dean of the FAES, Dr. Branislav Radulović professor at the University of the Mediterranean and a member of the Senate of the State Audit Agency, Božana Jelusić professor of literature and Neđeljko Rudović, an independent journalist of the daily newspaper Vijesti.
In transition the biggest ethic value was lost and a new one was set - privatization, and it was said 'If God does not exist everything is allowed’. So we come to the base of success 'connections', which means who you know, who is who, who owes someone a favor etc... and in such a system real values are getting lost.
Certainly schools should be the ones to provide more, and give predispositions to further progress, enabling individuals not to get lost in such a system and to give them an equal chance. But what is the quality of education and how big is the role of the state in it?
The primary function of the school is upbringing and educating, but the school has deprived the upbringing function, and a question mark is placed on education. And with all that we come to Bologna.
No doubt the idea of Bologna can not be implemented in Montenegrin faculties, where on each year per class we can find 700 or more students. Thus we come to lack of communication between students and professors, we lose the quality of education, the question is how much students actually learn from professors, and how much by reading the book just to pass the exam? This leads to failing to value real knowledge in this 'mechanical' system, where students are just numbers 154/13, 201/12, 03/11, ...106/03.
A lot of criticism is addressed to the Bologna system, although real student movement as bearers of change isn't there. Students as a class are not united, among students themselves there is a gap between the ones that study at state university and the ones that study at private ones, but history of university existence goes only 40 years back. (1974)
But there is a rule of ‘institute of fear’, which sets a barrage on every desire to change something. In Montenegro the authority hasn't changed since the '90s, although some will equalize this with totalitarianism, the situation in Montenegro is enviable comparing to other countries. Montenegro has the most developed civil society in the region, also almost nowhere in the region we can’t find a free media, and they are controlled by the government. Media in Montenegro are often the target of pressure, attacks and influence of political parties, but above all that they retain their freedom.
The question is whether they are aware of their power and what is it that they should represent?
Since there is the freedom of the media, although not so seldom limited by certain impacts of threats, attacks, pressures. Thus it isn't rare that the media, aware of it’s power leads to abuses of the freedom and the power they have.
The media should represent the voice of the citizens, and serve as an example that does not hesitate to ask questions and demand answers. Rights guaranteed to citizens bound only to legal documents, but not the reality, and the media should be mediator that will allow citizens to fight and have those rights and indicate to existing irregularities.
These are just some of the questions that students asked and some of the topics discussed at the student forum, which is certainly a step in a positive direction and that means that there are young people willing to start something, thirsty for change, and with a list of questions that they want answered.
And when you ask the right questions change begins.
picture taken from: arts.stanford.edu
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