A group of members of the Croatian academic community have sent an open letter to senior political officials, calling for an end to the unacceptable practice of senior office-holders getting academically promoted while holding public offices.

Although it is not prohibited by law, it is academically highly unethical for persons in a position of power to request promotion to a higher academic level, considering the realistic danger of conflict of interest and academic corruption. Their position of power brings into question the objectivity of their promotion while raising the question of how someone could objectively meet the conditions for a professorship if they hold the most responsible public offices, the academics say.

It is necessary to secure the greatest possible transparency of such promotions and make public all documents based on which they were achieved, the academics say, calling on the competent authorities to consider ways to provide a legislative and institutional framework to prevent, as much as possible, the abuse of political power for acquisition of academic titles and advocating the reestablishment of a national committee for ethics in science and higher education, abolished in 2022 under the Higher Education and Research Act.

The signatories cited in this context the recent case of Defence Minister Mario Banozic and his attempt to acquire the title of visiting lecturer, the academic promotion of Science and Education Minister Radovan Fuchs in July 2021, of former Science Minister Dragan Primorac, who during his term became an assistant professor in 2003, of former Science Minister Zeljko Jovanovic, who was promoted to an assistant professor in 2013, and of the chair of the parliamentary Education, Science and Culture Committee, Vesna Bedekovic, who was awarded scientific and teaching titles on a number of occasions, as well as cases of other, lower-ranking state officials.

The open letter was signed by Kosta Bovan, Dario Cepo, Blazenka Divjak, Vedran Djulabic, Zlatko Erjavec, Vesnica Garasic, Pavel Gregoric, Tvrtko Jakovina, Ivan Obadic, Sabina Rabatic, Viseslav Raos, Vlatko Silobrcic, Neven Soic, Damir Stanzer, Vjeran Strahonja, and Berto Salaj.