Млади у науци и високом образовању у Србији: останак или одлазак с повратном картом
YOUNG PEOPLE IN SCIENCE AND HIGHER EDUCATION IN SERBIA: STAYING HERE OR DEPARTURE WITH A RETURN TICKET

Author(s): Vladica Cvetković
Subject(s): Higher Education , Migration Studies, Human Resources in Economy
Published by: Институт друштвених наука
Keywords: university staff; faculties; higher education financing
Summary/Abstract: The paper discusses the causal role and responsibility of the higher education (HE) system in Serbia for the severe "brain-drain" in this country. Two groups of young people presently active in the HE system are discussed separately, namely HE staff and students. The HE system is responsible for at least two, possibly main controlling factors of "brain-drain": 1) non-transparent and unfair selection in the recruitment and employment of university staff and 2) the lack of an enrolment policy. In the recruitment processes at Serbian state universities, the principal selection is usually made during the immature career stage of the candidates; any mistake in the selection cannot be rectified later on, because all the subsequent stages in recruitment are promotions, rather than competitions. This mode of employment at universities generates dissatisfaction among many young individuals of high personal qualities; as a result, they decide to leave the country. On the other hand, due to the lack of any control in the enrolment policy, the Serbian HE system has been constantly producing graduates that are not relevant for the labour market, either in Serbia or abroad. These graduates also decide to emigrate, but they are not offered to work abroad in the specializations they had studied for; instead, they have to be willing to take low-skilled jobs. The enrolment policy can be designed only after substantial changes to the model of state financing of HE in Serbia, which is currently almost entirely based on input criteria, with funding amounts calculated solely on the basis of the number of students at individual (!) faculties. The paper suggests several problem-solving mechanisms and emphasizes that their implementation will require a consensus in the academic and scientific community.

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