PROFESSORS DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY: Dean’s Office of the Novi Sad Faculty of Philosophy Blocked Over Dismissal of Jelena Kleut!

Several dozen professors of the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad blocked the Dean’s Office of the higher education institution this morning because Jelena Kleut was not elected as a full professor.

They placed messages on the doors of the Dean’s Office reading “Who is next?”, “How did you vote?” and “You betrayed the children,” accompanied by a drawn bloody handprint.

The collective of the Faculty of Philosophy demands the protection of autonomy and of Professor Jelena Kleut

Previously, members of the collective of the Novi Sad Faculty of Philosophy submitted a request to the management to protect employees and the institution, and to “take into account the seriousness of the situation and its consequences for the entire university.”

In the request signed by 116 employees, the management was asked to “publicly and formally stand in defense of its institution by undertaking all available legal steps in order to protect colleague Jelena Kleut, who was unlawfully deprived of the right to continue working at the Faculty of Philosophy.”

They assessed that the secret ballot by which the decision was made in the case of Professor Kleut was “organized in order to protect from legal consequences those who, by voting against her, violated prescribed academic procedures and the law, disregarding previous positive decisions of the Election Council of the Faculty of Philosophy and the Council for Humanities.”

“As this opens the way for further abuses when this dangerous precedent becomes a rule and a recipe for settling accounts with dissenters, we call on the management of the Faculty of Philosophy to act responsibly and professionally, and to insist on respect for the competent decisions of the commission that wrote a positive report, as well as of the Election Council of the Faculty of Philosophy and the Council for Humanities, which supported that report,” the signatories requested.

They warned that the decision of the expanded composition of the Senate of January 15 “undermines the possibility of autonomous decision-making of faculties and belittles the expertise of faculty and university bodies.”

Support protest in Niš: “We do not accept, we do not remain silent” over the persecution of Jelena Kleut

Let us recall that on Sunday, January 18, citizens and students in Niš organized a protest rally in support of Professor Jelena Kleut, who they said had become a victim of the regime because of her support for students.

The protest “We do not accept, we do not remain silent” first began in front of the First Niš Gymnasium “Stevan Sremac,” after which the gathered participants marched to the building of the University of Niš.

A message was sent from the protest that the decision of the Senate of the University of Novi Sad not to elect Jelena Kleut to the rank of full professor was an “execution of the profession and a demonstration of brute force.”

Speakers at the protest emphasized that, in addition to Kleut, other educational institutions had also come under attack due to their support for student protests.

“Unfortunately, she is not the only victim of the regime. Our Faculty of Philosophy is also a victim. The ‘Svetozar Marković’ Gymnasium is now also under attack by the regime,” emphasized Milan Stojanović, a professor at the First Niš Gymnasium.

He added that “the regime is attacking institutions,” and that everything in Serbia that should function and do its job independently of the regime “should not even exist for the regime.”

Professors of the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad: Political attack on the Department of Media Studies

Three days before the civic-student protest in Niš, colleagues and students of Jelena Kleut from the University of Novi Sad held a support protest in front of the rectorate. While students, academic workers, and citizens were protesting, a session of the expanded composition of the Senate was being held inside the rectorate, at which a decision was to be made regarding the objection over the failure to make a decision on the election of Jelena Kleut to the rank of full professor.

It is important to note that the Senate of the University of Novi Sad in November last year refused to vote Kleut into the rank of full professor despite the fact that all competent bodies had previously given positive opinions. Academic networks stated at the time that the Senate’s decision had been made with serious violations of procedure.

Colleagues of Jelena Kleut from the Department of Media Studies warn that the decision not to appoint Jelena Kleut directly jeopardizes the education of hundreds of students. As they stated, Professor Kleut leads key courses, practical training, and reaccreditation processes in three study programs.

In a statement published by professors from this department, it is emphasized that this is a politically motivated attack on the academic community aimed at shutting down the Department of Media Studies, which the current authorities see as an “enemy.” Such decisions of the Senate flagrantly violate students’ rights to education and continue the campaign of persecution of professors at this faculty, they further stated in the announcement.