THE GOVERNMENT DOES NOT SUFFICIENTLY ENCOURAGE THE ENROLLMENT OF MEMBERS OF THE ROMA POPULATION INTO FACULTIES: OBSTACLES ON THE WAY TO THE UNIVERSITY

The Law on Higher Education does not offer affirmative action for Roma and Egyptian students

Miloš RUDOVIĆ

"I could have been in the fourth year of my studies instead of the first... I almost gave up. I was demotivated and discouraged that I would not be accepted at any university. And I believe that if my peers had encountered this problem, they would have given up immediately", Roma woman Violeta Hajrizaj says for the Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG).

Before getting a scholarship at the Faculty of State and European Studies, she tried three times to enroll in other faculties, two of which were for the journalism major at the Faculty of Political Sciences.

Apart from scholarships of 150 euros per month and a dormitory, the state of Montenegro cannot boast of special support measures for students from the Roma and Egyptian population. Instead of support, there are more obstacles to the university.

"There are many obstacles, but one of the biggest is the lack of affirmative action. This positive discrimination is still applied to people with disabilities, and the Roma and Egyptian community does not have that right", Nardi Ahmetović, a student of the Faculty of Philology in Nikšić, said for CIN-CG.

The Law on Higher Education stipulates that affirmative action is applied to persons with disabilities when enrolling in a study program and that they are exempted from paying school fees at both state and private institutions. The Law does not include the Roma and Egyptian community, despite numerous studies showing that they are among the most discriminated citizens in society.

Affirmative action is defined as a set of policies and practices that give certain advantages to specific groups, especially members of ethnic communities, that have faced injustices and been excluded from essential processes throughout history.

This possibility is also stated in the Law on Minority Rights and Freedoms, but not in the same way as in the Law on Higher Education.

As a health mediator, Ahmetović wanted to enroll in Social Work at the Faculty of Political Science. However, as he says, he received information from the Faculty representative that their hands are tied, and they cannot apply the affirmative action policy.

That is why Ahmetović decided to study Italian language and literature at the Faculty of Philology instead of Political Science.

"If we want to have young Roma and Egyptians who will advocate for a better position of their community and the entire society, we must give them the opportunity for education and advancement," he said.

The Dean's Office of the Faculty of Political Sciences said that when considering enrollment requests based on the principle of affirmative action, they are guided by the Law on Higher Education. They added that from 2006 to now, the Faculty enrolled seven students, members of the Roma and Egyptian population, according to the principle of affirmative action.

Last year, the Government adopted a new Strategy for the Social Inclusion of Roma and Egyptians 2021-2025, which foresees an increase in the number of educated members of the Roma and Egyptian community at all levels.

The Ministry of Education was obliged to submit to the Government at the end of last year the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Higher Education, which would include an initiative related to the implementation of affirmative action for students of the Roma and Egyptian population, as can be seen from the Action Plan for the Implementation of the Strategy. This Draft has not yet been submitted to the Government.

The Ministry told CIN-CG that a new Law on Higher Education would be drafted according to the work program.

"The draft that was done earlier is not valid. In the coming year, a new working group should be formed which will be in charge of amending the Law on Higher Education, where the question of introducing affirmative action for Roma and Egyptian students will be considered with special attention", the Ministry of Education stated.

The Law on Higher Education stipulates that undergraduate and master's students at public institutions do not pay tuition fees, while doctoral students at public institutions do. At private institutions, students of all study cycles pay a study fee.

In practice, this means that if a student at a public institution, regardless of nationality, completes the academic year, the study fee is not paid. Still, in the case of a renewal, the study fee has to be paid. "While at private institutions, all students, except for persons with disabilities, pay a fee for studying," the Ministry responded.

The Ministry of Human and Minority Rights told CIN-CG that they are advocating for the introduction of affirmative action when enrolling in the first year of studies and the exemption from tuition fees at all state and private faculties in the country. The analysis done before creating the Strategy for the field of education showed that "there is significant progress, but not yet sufficient for the complete integration of this community."

This Ministry says that the big gap in secondary education compared to the number of children from the Roma and Egyptian communities attending primary school is worrying. "The biggest gap is when it comes to attending higher education institutions by members of the Roma and Egyptian community since a minimal number of citizens of the Roma and Egyptian community enroll in higher education institutions," the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights stated.

As a form of affirmative action, the Ministry of Education has been paying scholarships of 150 euros per month to all Roma and Egyptian community students to increase the number of students. Scholarships are paid regardless of whether students from the Roma and Egyptian community attend private or state university.

For this academic year, 14 students from the Roma and Egyptian communities applied for the scholarships.

"At the University of Montenegro in the academic year 2021/22, seven RE students were enrolled, while in 2022/23 there were four RE students. We want to point out that "most of the enrolled students left their studies shortly after enrollment, " the Ministry of Education stated.

Vice-Rector for Education of the State University Veselin Mićanović told CIN-CG that 19 students who declared themselves as members of this community enrolled at the state university in the last six years.

Most of them are at the Faculty of Philology - seven, four at the Faculty of Political Sciences, three at the Faculty of Philosophy, two at the Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management, two at the Faculty of Economics, and one at the Faculty of Medicine. At the other faculty units, no enrolled students declared themselves as students of this population. At the same time, the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Civil Engineering do not maintain a database based on students' ethics or any other affiliation.

To increase the number of students from the RE community, the vice-rector for education says that the University of Montenegro has exempted students from this population from tuition fees. They are also trying to have an affirmative influence by implementing solutions from the Law on Minority Rights and Freedoms.

The Law on Minority Rights and Freedoms stipulates that the University of Montenegro, at the proposal of the Council of the minority, can enroll at the beginning of each academic year a certain number of students belonging to minorities, following the University statutes.

"University of Montenegro provides enrollment in each study year based on the principle of affirmative action so that the total number of places in each study program increases by one percent. Therefore, for all interested candidates, if they were below the enrollment quota, we applied the principle of affirmative action in order to stimulate them to continue their education", Mićanović said.

When asked whether the State University intends to initiate changes to the Law on Higher Education to introduce affirmative action, Mićanović said the University would advocate for its implementation. "In current practice, as stated, the above principle was applied to encourage members of the RE population to continue their education," he said.

Vasfija's average is 9.12

Private universities have different affirmative actions for students from this community.

As of this academic year, the University of the Mediterranean has its first student from the Roma population enrolled in master's studies at their Faculty of Law.

"As until this year, we did not have a single student who was a member of the RE population there was no real need to regulate this issue by passing special acts that foresee possible financial and other benefits. Of course, in case of greater interest in the future, we do not rule out that, in addition to applying affirmative action for persons with disabilities, we will also have special entry requirements for students from this population", Acting General Secretary Ivana Nikolić told CIN-CG.

Tusha Vasfije has been studying since last academic year at the Faculty of Business Economics and Law at the University Adriatik. "In the first year of her studies, she showed great commitment to the education process, passing all the exams provided for in the plan and program for the mentioned year of study, with an average of 9.12. The diligent work of the colleague mentioned above did not go unnoticed, so this year she also became a scholarship recipient of the Municipality of Bar", the University told CIN-CG.

Vasfije is also active in extracurricular activities and within the NGO "Young Roma."

At the Faculty of Management in Herceg Novi, two students from this population are enrolled in the first year of basic academic studies - Marija Ivanova and Alija Žabelj- and one student in the second year - Mehmet Berisha.

"The faculty provided the students mentioned above with a 10 percent tuition discount, as well as the possibility of deferred payment in installments depending on the student's financial capabilities," the University stated.

Coordinator for study programs of the Faculty of State and European Studies Igor Striković said the faculty awards scholarships to students who belong to vulnerable social groups.

The scholarship covers all tuition fees for one study year, textbooks for every subject, applications for exams, issuance of certificates and other documents, and all rights granted to students following the Law on Higher Education.

In addition, Striković pointed out that cooperation and help between students is an additional satisfaction for educational progress and an incentive to achieve the best possible results.

The scholarship holder of this faculty Violeta Hajrizaj is the interlocutor of CIN-CG from the beginning of the article. The fact that she failed to enroll in journalism studies did not prevent Hajrizaj from pursuing a career in journalism on the first Roma portal in Montenegro, RomaNet.

Citizens support affirmative action for RE

The results of the Balkan Barometer regional survey showed that the citizens of Montenegro are increasingly supporting affirmative action for members of the RE community to enroll in universities.

Ahmetović hopes that the Law on Higher Education will be changed soon.

"I am sincerely sorry I couldn't enroll in the Faculty of Political Science, but I hope affirmative action will be in force next year. I believe banning affirmative action will demotivate the youth of RE communities because, despite their desire, they remain unequal members of society, second-class citizens", Ahmetović says.

Hajrizaj hopes so as well.

"There are few of us, but the number grows by at least one or two every year. We should be given an opportunity and a chance".

Registered at the Employment Agency with an academic degree

In the Strategy for the Social Inclusion of Roma and Egyptians 2021-2025, prepared by the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights, one of the goals is to increase the number of RE members who enroll in higher education institutions on an annual basis.

The goal is to increase from last year's four to eight next year and to reach 15 people a year in 2025.

The document also indicates a negative correlation between the level of education and getting married before the age 18 among women. Namely, this share includes 28% of women in primary school or a lower education level and decreases to 1% among those with higher education.

"It is necessary to undertake certain activities and use the principle of affirmative action so that educated persons from the Roma and Egyptian communities who are registered at the Employment Agency do not have to wait long for employment," is one of the recommendations from the final report on the implementation of the Strategy for Social Inclusion of the RE in Montenegro 2016-2020.

In 2022, only one person with acquired higher education (bachelor's degree in pedagogy) was on the register of unemployed persons. That person declared a member of the RE population and was registered at the bureau of labor in Niksic.

The Employment Agency said that they are implementing active employment policy measures through programs intended for young unemployed persons, unemployed women, especially vulnerable groups of unemployed persons, as well as unemployed persons who do not have the knowledge, skills, and work experience necessary for an open labor market. The RE population, a sensitive group of unemployed persons, participates in active employment policy programs. This year, 15 people from the population are participating in that program, 10 of whom are women.

"As far as the direct creation of jobs, which is carried out through public work programs, seven members of the Roma population are employed, six members of the RE population are on-the-job training, while one person is included in the acquisition of professional career program and one person in the key skills acquisition program," the Agency stated in reply to CIN-CG.