Minister of Education Damir Šehović: Investigation on rewriting from Croatia will be continued – this Government will stand in way of plagiarism

Podgorica, Montenegro (31 August 2017) -- Minister of Education Damir Šehović said today at a press conference following the 38th Cabinet Session that the preparation of a detailed report on the compliance of the Montenegrin curriculum with the Croatian one is still not completed, but on the basis of the available information of the Institute for Education it is clear that the largest number of subject programmes in Montenegrin education reform is authentic; that there are certain concordances in the text in some subject programmes that are still being checked and that it does not call into question the quality of reform itself; that the omission made in the subject programme for physical education is evident, since the significant coincidence of this subject programme with the same one in Croatia is confirmed.

“In this regard, I am obliged to announce that the members of the three-member expert team, who worked on the development of physical education programme, submitted irrevocable resignations for membership in the Working Group and thus assumed their share of the responsibility, and that they are obliged to return the fees they received for this job to the budget,” Minister Šehović said.

The Minister said that the Ministry of education will ask the Institute for Education to establish a Working Group that will carry out the review of this subject programme and emphasised that afterwards, the new subject programme will be submitted for opinion to the National Education Council.

According to Minister Šehović, the problem that emerged accelerated the need to draft a new law that would prevent plagiarism, which was planned for the fourth quarter of this year.

“Already tomorrow, I will initiate and form working groups for the drafting of a new law on plagiarism, that is academic integrity, to the composition of which I will invite representatives of the civil sector, but also those who show interest in participation,” the Minister of Education said at a press conference.

Responding to a journalist’s question, Minister Šehović said he would initiate the election of the new National Education Council next week.

At today's session, the Government adopted the Draft Law on Spatial Planning and Construction of Facilities.

Minister of Sustainable Development and Tourism Pavle Radulović said that the new Law defines the area of ​​planning and the area of ​​construction, as well as the area of ​​legalisation of illegal buildings, which is significantly simplified.

Director General of the Agriculture Directorate Danijela Stolica presented the Information on the Purchase of Lambs and Instructions on VAT Registration and VAT Records for 2017.

PUBLIC RELATIONS SERVICE OF THE GOVERNMENT OF MONTENEGRO