The Senate of the University of Sarajevo adopted the initiative of the Student Parliament (SPUS) about cancellation of lectures and exam at faculties of UNSA on Fridays because of the Friday prayer. While planning the academic year, the terms of central weekly prayer of members of Catholic and Orthodox religion, as well as other religious communities, will be taken into account.
The Senate of the University of Sarajevo at the initiative of the Student Parliament made unanimous decision to conclude respect for human rights of all religious communities.
This decision recommends to organizational units of the University of Sarajevo, during the preparation of academic calendars, and other documents regulating the curriculum, activities, teaching and exams, and taking into account the right of students and teachers of Islamic religion who study and work at the University of Sarajevo, and other public events that involve a wider group of students and are optional or mandatory part of academic work, training and education, take care not to schedule academic obligations on Fridays in following terms: 11:45 am to 1:00 pm in the period of winter time, or 12:45 pm to 2:00 pm in the period of daylight saving time.
Also, it is recommended to organizational units and staff, that in the case of scheduling commitments during the weekend, take into account the terms of the central weekly prayer of members of Catholic and Orthodox religion, as well as other religious communities – and not to schedule academic obligations in these terms.
“We believe that the maintenance of classes and exams during the Friday prayer (which is the religious obligation of members of the Islamic faith), threatening their basic human rights and violate current legislation, because these students have to choose between performing their religious obligations and education which is why they enrolled on college. Past practice has been that teachers usually, at the time of the Friday prayer, liberated only students of Islamic faith from classes, thus discriminating members of other religions, as well as women – who are obliged to attend lectures, while those who go to the Friday prayer are not obliged to make up for the classes – and the abuse of that right used to happen as well.
Students Parliament of the University of Sarajevo, as well as the University of Sarajevo, as an institution founded on universal values, showed constant commitment to respect all human rights, equality and combating all forms of discrimination – which was confirmed by the unanimous support for this conclusion.
(Source: vijesti.ba)
