The Rector’s Collegium of the University of North Mitrovica, which operates within the Serbian system, said the academic environment should not become a stage for political conflicts. It said the rector, vice-rector and faculty leaders carry out their responsibilities conscientiously and responsibly.
The statement followed a request by 24 lecturers, including candidates from the Student List that won the elections in Serbia, calling for the rector and vice-rector to be removed. They accuse the university leaders of undermining university autonomy, applying political pressure on employees and allowing partisan influence.
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In their request, the lecturers said the leaders’ actions had put at risk academic freedoms, the dignity of the teaching profession and the future of an institution of particular importance to the survival of the Serb people in Kosovo and Metohija.
The Rector’s Collegium objected to leadership positions being treated as a matter of political division, describing them instead as academic and institutional responsibilities.
The statement said that protecting autonomy requires shielding the institution from various political influences and consistently respecting the law, academic standards and institutional procedures. The University, according to the Collegium, must not become an arena for political clashes.
In response to accusations that it had supported the positions and decisions of the Serb List and pressured employees to secure support for the Serbian Progressive Party and former president Aleksandar Vučić, the University said that compliance with Serbia’s state policy and institutional framework is not the same as partisan activity.
According to the statement, acting in line with state policy and the legal framework in force does not, in itself, constitute political engagement or abuse of an academic position.
The University, which relocated from Pristina in 1999, continued operating under Serbia’s system. Senior officials from the Serb List, the largest party representing Serbs in Kosovo, are also employed there.
Tanja Vujović, who is also a deputy speaker of the Kosovo Assembly for the Serb List, heads the Faculty of Economics as dean. Meanwhile, Zlatan Elek, chairman of the Serb List, serves as vice-dean of the Faculty of Medicine.
Candidates from the Student List and the lecturers who support them say the election results in Serbia showed that citizens voted for change. They say that instead of supporting the students who launched protests against the Serbian government, the University of North Mitrovica sided with those in power.
The Rector’s Collegium, for its part, stressed that individuals’ political views had been neither an advantage nor an obstacle in the implementation of academic procedures.
It noted that the Serbian government appoints the founder’s representatives to the University Council, while the University is not involved in proposing or selecting them.
Information on the University of North Mitrovica’s website shows that at least five members of the Serb List, including its chairman, Zlatan Elek, sit on the University Council as representatives of Serbia.
Among the Council’s members is Goran Rakić, former chairman of the Serb List and a former member of the Serbian Parliament, where he represented the Serbian Progressive Party.
The University Council, the institution’s governing body, has 19 members in total: 10 represent the faculties, six represent the founder—the Serbian government—and three represent the students.
