Niš Faculty of Philosophy staff face three months without pay

Employees at the Faculty of Philosophy in Niš, Serbia, have gone three months without receiving salaries. Staff members report that the Ministry of Education suspended payments following their refusal to transfer the history, Serbian language, and Russian language departments to the newly established Faculty of Serbian Studies.

Approximately 250 individuals, including their families, are facing economic hardship due to the dispute. While the Ministry of Education modified the Faculty of Philosophy's operating permit in March to remove several programs, staff maintain that the decision to separate these departments is unlawful.

Recently, 16 staff members—consisting of 15 professors and one assistant—transferred their documentation from the Faculty of Philosophy to the Faculty of Serbian Studies. Despite these departures, remaining faculty members state that teaching will continue normally through the redistribution of subjects, noting that students have expressed a preference to continue their studies at the original Faculty of Philosophy.