The Public Institution (PU) Center for Vocational Education has inadequately addressed activities to implement the recommendations. Out of 16 recommendations, only five—31 percent—have been fully executed, according to a statement from the State Audit Institution (SAI) released today.

The report noted that three recommendations remain unimplemented, meaning the irregularities identified during the audit have not been rectified.

The SAI conducted an audit focused on the execution of the recommendations laid out in the Audit Report for the Annual Financial Report of the Public Institution Vocational Education Center for 2022.

“The SAI’s competent Collegium, which includes Dr. Branislav Radulović (Head of the Collegium) and Ms. Vesna Mihailović (Member of the Collegium), concluded that the Public Institution Center for Vocational Education has insufficiently pursued activities to implement its recommendations, with only 5 out of 16—31%—fully executed. Three recommendations were not fulfilled, indicating that the irregularities from the audit remain unresolved,” the statement elaborated.

The SAI pointed out that the Public Institution Center for Vocational Education signed fixed-term employment contracts for designated positions, which, according to the SAI, does not comply with Article 37, paragraph 1 of the Labor Law. This law states that fixed-term contracts should only be made in exceptional circumstances.

“In 2024, four out of five individuals were hired through a takeover agreement from another entity, followed by the conclusion of fixed-term contracts. The irregularity regarding the compensation payments to the President and members of the Management Board (MB) has not been fully addressed. This practice is inconsistent with Article 35 of the Law on Salaries of Public Sector Employees, which states that compensation and income decisions for elected or appointed officials must be made by the respective authority that appointed them. To act on this recommendation, the Vocational Education Center addressed the Ministry of Education, Science, and Innovation. On June 11, 2024, the Commission for Personnel and Administrative Issues of the Government of Montenegro recommended the Ministry submit a Proposal for a Decision on the Compensation Amount for the President and Members of the Management Board for Government consideration,” the statement explained.

The SAI also indicated that the Public Institution Center for Vocational Education failed to maintain an inventory containing essential data, such as pricing, balance in accounting records, inventory balance (financial), surplus, and deficit.

“After reviewing the auditee’s report and assessing the situation, the Collegium decided, according to the Instructions on the Methodology for Conducting Performance Audits and the Guidelines for Preparing, Monitoring, and Controlling the Implementation of SAI Recommendations, that the auditee must resubmit a Report on the Implementation of Recommendations by December 19, 2025, for those recommendations that have been partially or not implemented. The final Report on the Implementation of Recommendations detailed in the Audit Report of the Annual Financial Report of the Public Institution Vocational Education Center for 2022 has been published on the official SAI website. (www.dri.co.me)”, stated the DRI.

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