In anticipation of the forum on the process of accreditation of higher education institutions in Serbia, the holding of which has been postponed due to the seriousness of the epidemiological situation in Serbia, the Network of Academic Solidarity and Engagement publicly expresses its concern over the fact that the National Accreditation Body (NAT) by decision of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education ( ENQA) lost full membership in this organization on February 20, 2020.
Masa emphasizes the fact that one of the key reasons for the loss of the status of a full member of this organization is that, in ENQA's opinion, the full independence of NAT in relation to institutions of higher education, and especially in relation to the National Council for Higher Education of the Republic of Serbia, is not ensured. ENQA points out that it is unacceptable that NAT's decisions on the accreditation of higher education and scientific institutions can be contested by the National Council for Higher Education, which is enabled by the current Law on Higher Education (Article 22).
Advocating for the autonomy of universities and scientific institutions in Serbia, Massa underlines that it is necessary to stop attempts to influence the executive power on independent bodies and institutions of importance for the academic community, through the adoption of bad legal solutions, such as, in the part concerning the accreditation process, clearly demonstrated by the aforementioned Law on Higher Education.
Taking into account the fact that by losing the status of a full member in ENQA, the quality of the accreditation process of higher education and scientific institutions in Serbia has been challenged, Masa calls on members of the University as well as scientific institutions to express their disagreement with the current situation, among other things, and to question the expediency of paying an already excessive fee for accreditation procedure of study programs prescribed by NAT.
