The government has the authority to create a specialized working body to evaluate diplomas obtained from abroad, requiring every state entity, public administration body, and institution to submit the educational documents of their employees upon request.

This mandate is detailed in a new clause of the Bill on Amendments to the Law on the Recognition of Foreign Educational Documents and Qualification Equivalence, introduced through an amendment by the Ministry of Education, Science, and Innovation, and approved by the Government in an electronic session yesterday.

“To safeguard the public interest concerning the recognition and equivalence of foreign educational documents, the Government of Montenegro may establish a specialized working body that will assess the current situation in this area and provide recommendations to the relevant authorities. To prepare the aforementioned analysis, the working body will gather data and documentation regarding employees in state administration bodies, administrative bodies, public institutions, and other entities exercising public powers, relating to their education. The entities referred to are obligated to provide the requested data and documentation, including personal information, upon request of the working body,” states the amendment adopted by the Ministry of Education yesterday.

The working body is required to process and safeguard personal data in compliance with laws governing personal data protection.

According to the Ministry of Education’s explanation, the introduction of this new article aims to “protect the public interest while enhancing legal certainty and the integrity of the process for recognizing foreign educational documents.”

“To facilitate this measure, the Government is granted the capacity to form a specialized working body that will be authorized, in accordance with the Law on the Processing of Personal Data, to access, manage, and secure personal data contained in relevant documentation. This approach guarantees the legality of handling sensitive data and establishes the accountability of those responsible for managing such information. The amendment also stipulates the obligations of state administration bodies, administrative bodies, public institutions, and other public authorities to provide educational documentation concerning their employees,” as specified in the explanatory note.

Last week, the government endorsed a proposal from PES MPs Darko Dragović, Dragana Vukčević, and Branka Markovic to append a provision to the same law regarding the temporary suspension of diploma recognition.

If the Parliament approves the Draft Law, the diploma recognition process for foreign qualifications may be temporarily halted if the educational institution involved is subject to investigations or legal actions, if its operations are prohibited due to illegality, or if the volume of recognition requests submitted to the ENIC Center significantly exceeds the number of educational documents granted by higher education institutions in Montenegro for comparable qualifications.

Recently, “Vijesti” reported that the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare decided to suspend the recognition of foreign educational certificates for over 120 medical professionals who, since the middle of last year, presented graduation credentials from the private Medical College “Milutin Milanković” in Belgrade.

Of the 127 certificates submitted to that department for validation, an alarming 94 were issued last September. On September 19 alone, this private institution, based in Zemun with a regional office in Tutin, issued over 20 graduation certificates to Montenegrin nationals.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia has sought verification of the authenticity of these foreign documents via their Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Due to the absence of a response from the competent authorities in Serbia, decisions to suspend the recognition process have been enacted. The recognition process can resume only upon a response from Serbian authorities,” reported the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at that time.

The Ministry recently informed “Vijesti” that it will not acknowledge any diplomas issued by the private “Tutin” High School in Tutin since 2019, the year the institution was prohibited from operating due to illegal activities. This encompasses over 60 diplomas.

At the end of last year, the Government, at the behest of the Ministry, led by Angel Jakšić Stojanović, decided to suspend the recognition procedures for educational documents from several institutions—including the Independent University of Political and Social Sciences, the University of Business Engineering and Management “PIM,” and others—from Bosnia and Herzegovina, pending court verdicts.

New Criminal Charges

The Ministry of Education and Training announced yesterday that it has filed three additional criminal charges with the Podgorica Basic State Prosecutor against individuals identified as OK, MK, and AN for allegedly submitting falsified educational documents.

“…During the recognition of foreign educational documents, the responsible establishments determined that these were not authentic public documents. This gives rise to a reasonable suspicion that individuals OK, MK, and AN have committed the crime of document forgery under Article 412 of the Criminal Code. We anticipate that the relevant authorities will take appropriate action within their jurisdiction to address this significant institutional issue,” stated the Ministry of Education and Science.

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