The Network of Academic Solidarity and Engagement sent a request to the State Secretary for Science, as well as to the assistant ministers from the Science Sector and the Higher Education Sector, for clarification of the conditions under which teaching staff at faculties can exercise the right to funding of scientific work.
Namely, according to News which was published on the website of the Ministry, at the end of 2019, the project funding of the scientific work of employees at faculties ended and "combined funding of the scientific research work of all employees in accredited scientific research organizations (NIOs) was introduced, depending on whether they engage in scientific research through funding according to the annual NIO's work plan, or they are engaged in projects of the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia for a certain period of time".
However, the combined form of funding does not cover all faculty employees. This type of financial compensation is not received by those who were not engaged in projects during the project financing, as well as those who were employed in NIO after the introduction of the combined form of financing, which, according to an unofficial estimate, includes at least several hundred employees at the faculties. Many tried through the faculties where they are employed to request to be included in the combined financing, but they were rejected without an explanation based on the provisions of the Law on Science and Research ("Official Gazette of RS", No. 49/2019).
Since in the Law on Science and Research ("Official Gazette of the RS", No. 49/2019) which in Article 135 regulates the combined form of financing, we did not find a basis for such different treatment, and that requests from institutions for financing additional staff were rejected, MASA asked for clarification on what is the condition for teaching staff to be included in the mentioned form of financing scientific research work. If there is no clear legal basis, this kind of practice can be considered discriminatory, which we consider unacceptable treatment of teaching staff.
