The Rector of the University of Belgrade, Vladan Đokić, delivered a speech that has since resonated widely across Serbia, accusing the country’s authorities of systematic pressure, hostility, and institutional abuse aimed at dismantling university autonomy and silencing the academic community.
Speaking on January 27, 2026, during a student protest marking Saint Sava’s Day, Rector Đokić said that no previous government had treated the academic community with such “arrogance, vindictiveness, and malice” as the current one.
“We are witnessing how this government, through its malice and moral distortion, is striking at the University,” Đokić said, adding that the authorities are targeting “the two most valuable segments of society – the youngest and the most educated.”
According to the rector, students and academics have become a target precisely because they refuse to remain silent and because they seek a normal life in Serbia rather than emigration.
Pressure on Universities: Physical, Financial, Media, and Administrative
Đokić outlined what he described as a coordinated campaign of pressure against universities, identifying several forms:
Physical pressure, including:
- Police and gendarmerie entering the University of Novi Sad campus, accompanied by what he described as excessive use of force
- Attempts by police to enter the Faculty of Law in Belgrade
- The detention and beating of students and professors outside faculty buildings
Financial pressure, such as:
- Regulations limiting professors’ scientific research work
- The introduction of the SPIRI system, which, according to Đokić, undermines the financial autonomy of higher education institutions
- Obstacles to implementing international projects due to bans on opening new sub-accounts
Media pressure, including:
- Targeting of students and professors by pro-government media outlets and senior officials
Administrative pressure, notably:
- Misdemeanor and criminal charges filed against all deans and rectors in Serbia
Alleged Violations of University Autonomy
The rector cited multiple cases in which university autonomy was allegedly breached, including:
- The establishment of the Faculty of Serbian Studies at the University of Niš
- Mass dismissals of teaching staff at the State University of Novi Pazar
- The removal of student status from hundreds of students in Novi Pazar
- The dismissal of the dean and senior staff at the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade
- The annulment of a professorial appointment at the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad
- A Ministry of Education decision ordering a repeat vote for the election of a dean at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade
“Power Lies in Knowledge, Not Malice”
Rejecting fear, Đokić said the academic community would respond “with the power of education”, stressing that no strong and prosperous society can exist without an independent and well-funded education system.
“This government does not need a university,” he said, warning that state universities are under daily pressure to extinguish the very idea of public education.
Invoking historical figures who defended Serbian universities, including Dositej Obradović, Sima Lozanić, and Slobodan Jovanović, Đokić called on academics to stand united in defense of autonomy and academic freedom.
He concluded with a direct message to current and future governments:
“Power does not lie in malice. Power lies in knowledge.”
