FOUR FACULTIES IN BELGRADE BEFORE CLOSURE: Due to huge debts under threat of enforcement officers!

Due to outstanding financial obligations, four Belgrade faculties are endangered, and some of them face the closure of their buildings if the state does not settle the debts by the end of June, Nova.rs portal announced, stating that these are the Faculty of Chemistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, and Faculty of Mechanical Engineering.

This was also warned by the Rector of the University of Belgrade, Vladan Đokić, who, appearing on Radio-Television of Vojvodina (RTV), said that a large number of higher education institutions are threatened with sanctions due to outstanding material obligations.

The Dean of the Faculty of Chemistry, Goran Roglić, confirmed for the Nova.rs portal that the situation at several faculties is quite bad due to enormous debts, and that the Faculty of Chemistry is currently the most endangered.

The Faculty of Pharmacy, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, and Faculty of Dentistry are in the same problem, having large debts.

“We received a pre-litigation warning from Infostan with the obligation to settle our debts by June 25. Unfortunately, we still have not received funds for material costs. We have a promise that one quarter will be paid by July 1. However, that still doesn’t solve our problem. We also have a promise that the Prime Minister will appeal to suppliers not to initiate proceedings or charge interest,” said Roglić.

According to him, the Faculty of Chemistry currently owes between 25 and 26 million dinars, and the largest part of the costs are electricity and heating bills.

“These are debts for this year. By changing the law, it is foreseen that the state covers these costs in full, but the state has not paid us. They were supposed to pay us funds for half a year in April, but they didn’t. Now, some agreement has been made for them to pay us in four tranches, that is, on July 1, then September, October, and December,” Roglić said.

If the state does not soon pay the funds to settle the obligations, the building of the Faculty of Chemistry may be closed, the dean warned.

“It is much more likely that they will send us enforcement officers and that the account will be blocked. That is our reality. Last year the situation was different because the state’s obligation was not foreseen by law, but now it is its obligation to settle the costs in full,” said Roglić.

In the building of the former Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics on Studentski trg at number 12-16, besides Chemistry, there are also the Faculty of Physics, Mining, Mathematics, Geography, Biology, and Physical Chemistry.

“The position of all deans of our group is that – if the problem of constant costs is not resolved, we will be forced to close the building. We will not be able to pay bills, in case we don’t pay, an account blockade follows and the arrival of enforcement officers whom we are again obliged to reward for their enforcement because they will block our account,” the dean warned.

The dean states that the non-fulfillment of the state’s financial obligations is a punitive policy implemented due to the current student blockades.

“They did not want to respect the legal obligation until the student blockades were suspended. It’s simply like that,” Roglić said.