In the 2023/24 academic year, 12,417 freshmen were enrolled in the faculties of the University of Belgrade, while 2,896 places remained vacant, namely 1,365 places for students who are studying on the state’s expense and 1,531 places for self-financing students.
Statistics show that the number of freshmen is decreasing year-on-year and that the number of vacant places at faculties is increasing. The most vacancies are recorded at the Faculty of Mining and Geology, Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, Faculty of Philology, Teacher Training Faculty and Faculty of Mathematics and Physics.
The situation is the worst at the Faculty of Physics considering that only one freshman enrolled for the physics teacher major in June. The dean of the Faculty of Physics, Ivan Belča, says that we should be very concerned with the fact that, every year, the number of students enrolling in Belgrade faculties has been declining, while the number of students enrolling in private universities is constantly going up. This, as he says, is indicative of a society that is at its lowest possible point.
The situation with new enrollments is also bad at the Faculty of Mining and Geology with less than 40% of the enrollment quota fulfilled. The Faculty says that if such trend continues, the mining sector won’t have enough mining engineers. “The anti-mining campaign in Serbia is to blame for that,” Biljana Albomasov, dean of the Faculty of Mining and Geology, says.
Ivan Belča, Dean of the Faculty of Physics, says that one segment of the population thinks it’s important to get only a degree, but not acquire knowledge. “We should be concerned as a society because we are at the lowest possible point. Education must be treated as an important thing for a country to survive. The state must invest in teaching and education”, he adds.
In contrast, the most popular faculties are the Faculty of Law, the Faculty of Economics, the Faculty of Political Sciences, the Faculty of Sports and Physical Education, the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, the Faculty of Dentistry and the Faculty of Pharmacy.
Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Professor Vladimir Popovic, PhD, says that the three most common reasons why the number of enrolled students has been dropping are more students studying abroad, high living expenses in Belgrade and demographics.
(Nova, 02.11.2023)
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