Waiting for a Sign

While we were waiting for Prof. Suljejmani, Prof. Dr. Bedri Kamberi, once a chemistry Professor at the Pristina University, who read his lectures in Albanian and Serbian, as he proudly told us, kept us company. He was kind enough to tell us some technical details regarding the new University in Tetovo.

The University will have six colleges in the beginning: Arts College (Music and Graphics), Philology (Albanian Language and Literature, English Language and Literature, Oriental Languages and Literatures and later German Language and Literature), Philosophy (Departments of Pedagogy and History, and later Philosophy and Sociology), as well as Colleges of Economy, Law, Natural Sciences and Mathematics (Biology, Chemistry, Mathematic, Physics departments and the department of Geography will open subsequently).

Each department is to admit 30 full-time and 15 part-time students, with the exception of the Arts College - its departments will enroll 15 full-time and part-time students.

The Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia does not envisage the opening of a university or any other degree-granting educational institution in a language other than Macedonian, but the Macedonian Government still has not commented upon the Tetovo case. Dr. Fadilj Sulejmani, Chairman of the Initiating Committee for the opening of the University in Tetovo told VREME about the organization, staff, plan, program, diploma verification and financing of the University.

VREME: The celebration to mark the opening of the University in Tetovo is scheduled for December 17, but you still have not been granted a working licence by the authorities. Do you consider this an act of provocation which might deteriorate the already tense relations?

SULEJMANI: We tried to get in touch with the authorities and President Gligorov in any way we could, but to this day we have received no answer or indication that the other side is prepared for a dialogue. We have no other alternative; our youth are roaming the streets because they have no opportunity to study at a college or university. They banished us from Pristina and we find the study conditions at the Skopje and Bitolj Universities unacceptable. That's why we decided to organize this form of education ourselves, to provide our children with necessary, worthy education. We need educated people, people who will teach our children, enlighten our women, people who will professionally do their jobs in the economy and industry and all our institutions. There can be no compromise. Of course we don't want war or any kind of violence, but, as I already said and was misquoted, if they prevent us in our endeavor, all of the ethnic Albanian people in Macedonia, from Kumanovo to Ohrid, and there are more than half a million of us, will rise and oppose that uncivilized act of preventing education. Be what may.

The fact is that the work of a University is not a short-term endeavor and that it calls for a stable financial foundation and lots of money. As an autochtonous people in Macedonia, we maintain that the state must earmark from its budget the funds for the education of our children and youth. Our children serve the army here to defend Macedonia if necessary, the citizens pay their taxes regularly, including the levies for the development of education, so why shouldn't we request of that same state to educate our children and create conditions for the organization of university and college studies? We are aware that, under the present law, we shall not win this easily, but we are convinced that we shall succeed. Macedonia must create the proper conditions and finance our children's education.

Our staff already includes 63 Professors with Ph.D.'s and 135 with Master's Degrees, who had been granted these titles in the former Yugoslavia. We know there are more such people, but we still have not discovered them. That is a great potential for our university. Many of them are involved in scientific work and publish papers. All of this guarantees that we'll be able to provide our students with the necessary conditions for study during the first term. The classrooms and offices will be a tougher problem, but this is where we expect the Macedonian Government's help and we believe it will provide us with both the premises and equipment in the foreseeable future.