Nis Philosophy Faculty Gets July Pay, Two Months Still Owed
Staff at the Faculty of Philosophy in Nis received one paycheck after three months. August and September pay have not arrived, and the Education Ministry gives no date.
Employees of the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Nis received their July salary on the morning of October 22, the first payment in three months. Pay for August and September has still not arrived, and the Ministry of Education has not told the faculty why, or when it will be paid.
The last money before that landed on July 20, as the second half of the June salary. Since then the staff have also been without health insurance. We reported on October 21 on the pay dispute at this faculty, and this morning’s payment does not close it, because one of the three overdue salaries has arrived.
What came before the payment?
A day earlier, on October 21, the Ministry of Education announced that budget funds for the salaries of Faculty of Philosophy staff had been secured on October 20. The same day, Dean Vladimir Jovanovic sent employees an email saying the Ministry had confirmed that the conditions for paying the July salary were met, without giving any explanation.
In its statement, the Ministry says it could not determine the amount needed for the Faculty of Philosophy and the Faculty of Serbian Studies, which is still being established, until it knew how many employees had moved from one to the other. According to the Ministry, the Faculty of Serbian Studies has now notified it of the transfers, so the conditions exist to redistribute funds between the two institutions. Sixteen teachers moved over from three Philosophy departments: Serbian studies, history, and Russian language and literature.
The same statement also pointed out that the Faculty of Philosophy is obliged to pay salaries at least once a month, and that the Ministry covers only part of salary costs from the budget under the regulations in force. The Ministry sharply denied claims that it is carrying out “revenge and terror” against the staff, calling them an attempt by certain political actors to politicize the situation.
What does the faculty say?
Associate Professor Dusan Aleksic told Danas that employees have no explanation for the payment:
“We received the July salary this morning. We do not know on what legal basis, or why we were not paid for August and September as well, or when that will be done.”
Aleksic also rejects the claim that the faculty is responsible for part of the salaries. In his words, the Law on Higher Education says salaries are paid exclusively from the budget of the Republic of Serbia. He adds that there was no technical obstacle to transferring the appropriation, because funds are secured for the maximum number of employees, and the faculty has about 210 staff against a permitted maximum of 250. He described the payment and the Ministry’s statement this way:
“His statement and this payment are just pre-election theater.”
How did the dispute start?
The dispute goes back to the Serbian Government’s decision to establish the Faculty of Serbian Studies, which took effect on November 8, 2025. The Faculty of Philosophy launched court proceedings, and after its lawsuit the Administrative Court used an interim measure to suspend the operating license of the Faculty of Serbian Studies. The Ministry maintains that the Administrative Court’s rulings concern the operating license, not the Government’s decision to establish the faculty.
The Faculty of Philosophy has also filed a complaint against Education Minister Dejan Vuk Stankovic for abuse of office. According to data published by Danas, the Ministry is not paying this faculty its funds for material costs and routine maintenance either, while classes, exams and work with students have continued without interruption throughout.
