MICA JOVANOVIC FOR PINK: There is no excuse for increasing tuition fees at Belgrade University! Private Universities will keep their prices
Tuition fees for study programs at all levels have been increased at Economic, Legal, Transport, Mechanical and Teacher Training. Tuition fees went up with very small adjustments, with the highest jump in the Faculty of Transportation, for as much as 18,000 dinars.
Tuition fees at five faculties of the University of Belgrade will be more expensive in the new academic year. Prof. dr. Mica Jovanovic, PhD, president of Megatrend University says that the fact is that some state colleges are increasing their tuition fees, while in private the prices are mostly the same as in previous years.
– I think that there is no justification for the increase of tuition fees, and the benefits are mostly obtained by the faculty teachers, who have increased their tuition fees. Let’s make a formula: if the salaries of the professors are increased, and on the other hand, parents and students who are self-supporting while studying and when this is brought into a relative relationship, we will see that the salaries are stagnant, somewhere they are not even received, and on the other hand, the tuition fees are rising – says Jovanovic. He points out that knowledge has no cost and Megatrend offers free study.
He says his University offered a free first year of study from 2012 to 2016.
– We have given material motivation, and today we give more: the first is paid, the second is free, the third is paid and the fourth is free. So, it pays a total of 50 percent less. In addition to material motivation, we also morally motivate students. Unlike other colleges and universities, we give the opportunity to take exams in 11 exam periods – says Jovanovic for Pink. She adds that the law does not restrict faculty from determining how many exam periods they will have, and that it is important to help and facilitate students as much as possible.
There are other types of motivation, he says: an unlimited number of consultations with professors, the professor is always available, and the student is at the center of the event.
He says the tuition fees at most private and government colleges almost coincide.
– They range from 1,200 to 1,800 euros and I think this is a realistic price for our education market. It is not good to increase the cost of tuition. We have been holding a $ 1,500 tuition fee for 10 years in 10 installments, and any increase is unbearable for students. In addition, this price allows universities to hold on to some point of profitability – says Jovanovic.
He says that Megatrend University has 12 faculties and more than one hundred programs, namely orientation. They were all wanted and, he says, the most wanted are the Faculty of Culture and Media, as well as the Faculty of Civil Aviation. He says that from the second or third year, students are sent to internships, and often students are employed precisely in the company or company where they had internships.
