Ljiljana Colic
Encyclopedia
Ljiljana Čolić, Ph.D.
(Serbian Cyrillic: Љиљана Чолић) (born 1956, Zemun
, Belgrade
, Yugoslavia
) is a former Minister for Education and Sport in the Government of Serbia
.
, is a professor of Ottoman language and paleography at the University of Belgrade
and she holds a graduate degree in philosophy and a Ph.D.
in philology
. She works as an associate professor teaching Turkish at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Philology
; and in Priština
, she worked as guest professor at the Faculty of Philosophy.
Čolić was a deputy in the Federal Parliament and one of the founders of the Democratic Party of Serbia
. She speaks English
, French
, Turkish
, and Arabic
fluently.
She made an appearance in the international mass media spotlight on September 7, 2004, when she ordered Serbia
n schools to suspend the teaching of evolution
unless they introduced creationism
. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/09/09/wdarw09.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/09/09/ixworld.html
Researchers, teachers, the Serbian Academy of Science and Arts and some 40 non-government organisations and human rights groups voiced their concern over such a move, including UNICEF. Nikola Tucić, a Belgrade University biology lecturer, described the education minister’s ruling as a "disaster." He stated that it was "outrageous" in a comment published by Glas Javnosti
. He went on that teaching biology without Darwin is "senseless", "becoming a theocratic state and in the 21st century", and going "back to the Book of Revelations". The Serbian administration initially backed her decision, stating "accumulated scientific knowledge on the origin and development of man is full of voids"; however, after widespread protest, on September 9 of the same year, Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica
reversed the decision and announced that Čolić would be replaced.
On September 16, 2004, she resigned after talking with the prime minister. Slobodan Vuksanović
was named to replace her in October, 2004.
In June 2006 she published a book titled Put (path), staunchily defending her actions as a minister of education. On the official promoting of her book, she claimed that during her tenure, when she asked foreign advisors why they pushed so hard for the reform of Serbian education, she got answer that they need plumber
s, not educated people (Politika
newspapers, June 13, 2006, page 10).
Ljiljana Čolić, Ph.D.
(Serbian Cyrillic: Љиљана Чолић) (born 1956, Zemun
, Belgrade
, Yugoslavia
) is a former Minister for Education and Sport in the Government of Serbia
.
, is a professor of Ottoman language and paleography at the University of Belgrade
and she holds a graduate degree in philosophy and a Ph.D.
in philology
. She works as an associate professor teaching Turkish at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Philology
; and in Priština
, she worked as guest professor at the Faculty of Philosophy.
Čolić was a deputy in the Federal Parliament and one of the founders of the Democratic Party of Serbia
. She speaks English
, French
, Turkish
, and Arabic
fluently.
She made an appearance in the international mass media spotlight on September 7, 2004, when she ordered Serbia
n schools to suspend the teaching of evolution
unless they introduced creationism
. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/09/09/wdarw09.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/09/09/ixworld.html
Researchers, teachers, the Serbian Academy of Science and Arts and some 40 non-government organisations and human rights groups voiced their concern over such a move, including UNICEF. Nikola Tucić, a Belgrade University biology lecturer, described the education minister’s ruling as a "disaster." He stated that it was "outrageous" in a comment published by Glas Javnosti
. He went on that teaching biology without Darwin is "senseless", "becoming a theocratic state and in the 21st century", and going "back to the Book of Revelations". The Serbian administration initially backed her decision, stating "accumulated scientific knowledge on the origin and development of man is full of voids"; however, after widespread protest, on September 9 of the same year, Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica
reversed the decision and announced that Čolić would be replaced.
On September 16, 2004, she resigned after talking with the prime minister. Slobodan Vuksanović
was named to replace her in October, 2004.
In June 2006 she published a book titled Put (path), staunchily defending her actions as a minister of education. On the official promoting of her book, she claimed that during her tenure, when she asked foreign advisors why they pushed so hard for the reform of Serbian education, she got answer that they need plumber
s, not educated people (Politika
newspapers, June 13, 2006, page 10).
Ljiljana Čolić, Ph.D.
(Serbian Cyrillic: Љиљана Чолић) (born 1956, Zemun
, Belgrade
, Yugoslavia
) is a former Minister for Education and Sport in the Government of Serbia
.
, is a professor of Ottoman language and paleography at the University of Belgrade
and she holds a graduate degree in philosophy and a Ph.D.
in philology
. She works as an associate professor teaching Turkish at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Philology
; and in Priština
, she worked as guest professor at the Faculty of Philosophy.
Čolić was a deputy in the Federal Parliament and one of the founders of the Democratic Party of Serbia
. She speaks English
, French
, Turkish
, and Arabic
fluently.
She made an appearance in the international mass media spotlight on September 7, 2004, when she ordered Serbia
n schools to suspend the teaching of evolution
unless they introduced creationism
. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/09/09/wdarw09.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/09/09/ixworld.html
Researchers, teachers, the Serbian Academy of Science and Arts and some 40 non-government organisations and human rights groups voiced their concern over such a move, including UNICEF. Nikola Tucić, a Belgrade University biology lecturer, described the education minister’s ruling as a "disaster." He stated that it was "outrageous" in a comment published by Glas Javnosti
. He went on that teaching biology without Darwin is "senseless", "becoming a theocratic state and in the 21st century", and going "back to the Book of Revelations". The Serbian administration initially backed her decision, stating "accumulated scientific knowledge on the origin and development of man is full of voids"; however, after widespread protest, on September 9 of the same year, Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica
reversed the decision and announced that Čolić would be replaced.
On September 16, 2004, she resigned after talking with the prime minister. Slobodan Vuksanović
was named to replace her in October, 2004.
In June 2006 she published a book titled Put (path), staunchily defending her actions as a minister of education. On the official promoting of her book, she claimed that during her tenure, when she asked foreign advisors why they pushed so hard for the reform of Serbian education, she got answer that they need plumber
s, not educated people (Politika
newspapers, June 13, 2006, page 10).
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
(Serbian Cyrillic: Љиљана Чолић) (born 1956, Zemun
Zemun
Zemun is a historical town and one of the 17 municipalities which constitute the City of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia...
, Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
) is a former Minister for Education and Sport in the Government of Serbia
Government of Serbia
Officially the Government of the Republic of Serbia is the executive branch of government in Serbia.-Current government:The current government was elected on 7 July 2008 by the majority vote in the National Assembly of Serbia and restructured on 14 March 2011...
.
Personal life and achievements
Čolić, an Orthodox ChristianOrthodox Christianity
The term Orthodox Christianity may refer to:* the Eastern Orthodox Church and its various geographical subdivisions...
, is a professor of Ottoman language and paleography at the University of Belgrade
University of Belgrade
The University of Belgrade is the oldest and largest university of Serbia.Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it merged with the Kragujevac-based departments into a single university...
and she holds a graduate degree in philosophy and a Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in philology
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
. She works as an associate professor teaching Turkish at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Philology
University of Belgrade Faculty of Philology
The Faculty of Philology is one of the constituent schools of the University of Belgrade. The school's purpose is to train and educate its students in the academic study or practice in linguistics and philology.-History:...
; and in Priština
Pristina
Pristina, also spelled Prishtina and Priština is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous municipality and district....
, she worked as guest professor at the Faculty of Philosophy.
Čolić was a deputy in the Federal Parliament and one of the founders of the Democratic Party of Serbia
Democratic Party of Serbia
The Democratic Party of Serbia is a political party in Serbia.-Foundation:The Democratic Party of Serbia was founded when a faction of the Democratic Party that supported its involvement in the Democratic Movement of Serbia split from the party and formed their own in 1992.Soon after the March...
. She speaks English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
, and Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
fluently.
Political life
Čolić was confirmed as Minister of Education and Sport in March 2004. As a conservative government superseded a reformist one, Dr. Čolić worked hard to alter and reverse changes from the previous government. These measures included: suspending the teaching of English from first grade; limiting the use of modern and sophisticated methods; and the introduction of Serbian Orthodox religious teaching as a compulsory subject from the first grade. She also banned computer sciences from schools because she considered them bad for health.She made an appearance in the international mass media spotlight on September 7, 2004, when she ordered Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n schools to suspend the teaching of evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
unless they introduced creationism
Creationism
Creationism is the religious beliefthat humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe are the creation of a supernatural being, most often referring to the Abrahamic god. As science developed from the 18th century onwards, various views developed which aimed to reconcile science with the Genesis...
. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/09/09/wdarw09.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/09/09/ixworld.html
Researchers, teachers, the Serbian Academy of Science and Arts and some 40 non-government organisations and human rights groups voiced their concern over such a move, including UNICEF. Nikola Tucić, a Belgrade University biology lecturer, described the education minister’s ruling as a "disaster." He stated that it was "outrageous" in a comment published by Glas Javnosti
Glas javnosti
Glas javnosti is a daily newspaper published in Belgrade.Its first issue appeared on April 20, 1998, published by a group of journalists from Blic daily who, led by Manojlo Vukotić, left to form their own newspaper.Initially, their new paper carried the Novi Blic name, but the Belgrade Commercial...
. He went on that teaching biology without Darwin is "senseless", "becoming a theocratic state and in the 21st century", and going "back to the Book of Revelations". The Serbian administration initially backed her decision, stating "accumulated scientific knowledge on the origin and development of man is full of voids"; however, after widespread protest, on September 9 of the same year, Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica
Vojislav Koštunica
Vojislav Koštunica is a Serbian politician, statesman and the president of the Democratic Party of Serbia. He was the last President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, succeeding Slobodan Milošević and serving from 2000 to 2003...
reversed the decision and announced that Čolić would be replaced.
On September 16, 2004, she resigned after talking with the prime minister. Slobodan Vuksanović
Slobodan Vuksanovic
Slobodan Vuksanović is a poet, essayist and translator who served as Minister of Education and Sport in the Government of Serbia from 2004 to 2007....
was named to replace her in October, 2004.
In June 2006 she published a book titled Put (path), staunchily defending her actions as a minister of education. On the official promoting of her book, she claimed that during her tenure, when she asked foreign advisors why they pushed so hard for the reform of Serbian education, she got answer that they need plumber
Plumber
A plumber is a tradesperson who specializes in installing and maintaining systems used for potable water, sewage, and drainage in plumbing systems. The term dates from ancient times, and is related to the Latin word for lead, "plumbum." A person engaged in fixing metaphorical "leaks" may also be...
s, not educated people (Politika
Politika
Politika is a Serbian newspaper. It is considered the newspaper of record and is the oldest daily in the Balkans, having been founded on January 25, 1904 by Vladislav Ribnikar. It is currently being published by Politika Newspapers and Magazines , a joint venture between Politika AD and...
newspapers, June 13, 2006, page 10).
Quotes
- It is normal that a minister's personality leaves a mark. This is my mark and time will tell if I was right.
- [on Darwinism] is a theoryTheoryThe English word theory was derived from a technical term in Ancient Greek philosophy. The word theoria, , meant "a looking at, viewing, beholding", and referring to contemplation or speculation, as opposed to action...
as dogmaDogmaDogma is the established belief or doctrine held by a religion, or a particular group or organization. It is authoritative and not to be disputed, doubted, or diverged from, by the practitioners or believers...
tic as the one which says GodGodGod is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
created the first man. (interview in Glas Javnosti) - [on Darwinism] His theory is taught in the sixth grade for 12 lessons. I doubt that anywhere in the world, Darwin's, still unconfirmed theory of the development of species, gets that much attention)
- Both theories exist in parallel and legitimately in the rest of the world.
External links
Ljiljana Čolić, Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
(Serbian Cyrillic: Љиљана Чолић) (born 1956, Zemun
Zemun
Zemun is a historical town and one of the 17 municipalities which constitute the City of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia...
, Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
) is a former Minister for Education and Sport in the Government of Serbia
Government of Serbia
Officially the Government of the Republic of Serbia is the executive branch of government in Serbia.-Current government:The current government was elected on 7 July 2008 by the majority vote in the National Assembly of Serbia and restructured on 14 March 2011...
.
Personal life and achievements
Čolić, an Orthodox ChristianOrthodox Christianity
The term Orthodox Christianity may refer to:* the Eastern Orthodox Church and its various geographical subdivisions...
, is a professor of Ottoman language and paleography at the University of Belgrade
University of Belgrade
The University of Belgrade is the oldest and largest university of Serbia.Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it merged with the Kragujevac-based departments into a single university...
and she holds a graduate degree in philosophy and a Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in philology
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
. She works as an associate professor teaching Turkish at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Philology
University of Belgrade Faculty of Philology
The Faculty of Philology is one of the constituent schools of the University of Belgrade. The school's purpose is to train and educate its students in the academic study or practice in linguistics and philology.-History:...
; and in Priština
Pristina
Pristina, also spelled Prishtina and Priština is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous municipality and district....
, she worked as guest professor at the Faculty of Philosophy.
Čolić was a deputy in the Federal Parliament and one of the founders of the Democratic Party of Serbia
Democratic Party of Serbia
The Democratic Party of Serbia is a political party in Serbia.-Foundation:The Democratic Party of Serbia was founded when a faction of the Democratic Party that supported its involvement in the Democratic Movement of Serbia split from the party and formed their own in 1992.Soon after the March...
. She speaks English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
, and Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
fluently.
Political life
Čolić was confirmed as Minister of Education and Sport in March 2004. As a conservative government superseded a reformist one, Dr. Čolić worked hard to alter and reverse changes from the previous government. These measures included: suspending the teaching of English from first grade; limiting the use of modern and sophisticated methods; and the introduction of Serbian Orthodox religious teaching as a compulsory subject from the first grade. She also banned computer sciences from schools because she considered them bad for health.She made an appearance in the international mass media spotlight on September 7, 2004, when she ordered Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n schools to suspend the teaching of evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
unless they introduced creationism
Creationism
Creationism is the religious beliefthat humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe are the creation of a supernatural being, most often referring to the Abrahamic god. As science developed from the 18th century onwards, various views developed which aimed to reconcile science with the Genesis...
. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/09/09/wdarw09.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/09/09/ixworld.html
Researchers, teachers, the Serbian Academy of Science and Arts and some 40 non-government organisations and human rights groups voiced their concern over such a move, including UNICEF. Nikola Tucić, a Belgrade University biology lecturer, described the education minister’s ruling as a "disaster." He stated that it was "outrageous" in a comment published by Glas Javnosti
Glas javnosti
Glas javnosti is a daily newspaper published in Belgrade.Its first issue appeared on April 20, 1998, published by a group of journalists from Blic daily who, led by Manojlo Vukotić, left to form their own newspaper.Initially, their new paper carried the Novi Blic name, but the Belgrade Commercial...
. He went on that teaching biology without Darwin is "senseless", "becoming a theocratic state and in the 21st century", and going "back to the Book of Revelations". The Serbian administration initially backed her decision, stating "accumulated scientific knowledge on the origin and development of man is full of voids"; however, after widespread protest, on September 9 of the same year, Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica
Vojislav Koštunica
Vojislav Koštunica is a Serbian politician, statesman and the president of the Democratic Party of Serbia. He was the last President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, succeeding Slobodan Milošević and serving from 2000 to 2003...
reversed the decision and announced that Čolić would be replaced.
On September 16, 2004, she resigned after talking with the prime minister. Slobodan Vuksanović
Slobodan Vuksanovic
Slobodan Vuksanović is a poet, essayist and translator who served as Minister of Education and Sport in the Government of Serbia from 2004 to 2007....
was named to replace her in October, 2004.
In June 2006 she published a book titled Put (path), staunchily defending her actions as a minister of education. On the official promoting of her book, she claimed that during her tenure, when she asked foreign advisors why they pushed so hard for the reform of Serbian education, she got answer that they need plumber
Plumber
A plumber is a tradesperson who specializes in installing and maintaining systems used for potable water, sewage, and drainage in plumbing systems. The term dates from ancient times, and is related to the Latin word for lead, "plumbum." A person engaged in fixing metaphorical "leaks" may also be...
s, not educated people (Politika
Politika
Politika is a Serbian newspaper. It is considered the newspaper of record and is the oldest daily in the Balkans, having been founded on January 25, 1904 by Vladislav Ribnikar. It is currently being published by Politika Newspapers and Magazines , a joint venture between Politika AD and...
newspapers, June 13, 2006, page 10).
Quotes
- It is normal that a minister's personality leaves a mark. This is my mark and time will tell if I was right.
- [on Darwinism] is a theoryTheoryThe English word theory was derived from a technical term in Ancient Greek philosophy. The word theoria, , meant "a looking at, viewing, beholding", and referring to contemplation or speculation, as opposed to action...
as dogmaDogmaDogma is the established belief or doctrine held by a religion, or a particular group or organization. It is authoritative and not to be disputed, doubted, or diverged from, by the practitioners or believers...
tic as the one which says GodGodGod is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
created the first man. (interview in Glas Javnosti) - [on Darwinism] His theory is taught in the sixth grade for 12 lessons. I doubt that anywhere in the world, Darwin's, still unconfirmed theory of the development of species, gets that much attention)
- Both theories exist in parallel and legitimately in the rest of the world.
External links
Ljiljana Čolić, Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
(Serbian Cyrillic: Љиљана Чолић) (born 1956, Zemun
Zemun
Zemun is a historical town and one of the 17 municipalities which constitute the City of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia...
, Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
) is a former Minister for Education and Sport in the Government of Serbia
Government of Serbia
Officially the Government of the Republic of Serbia is the executive branch of government in Serbia.-Current government:The current government was elected on 7 July 2008 by the majority vote in the National Assembly of Serbia and restructured on 14 March 2011...
.
Personal life and achievements
Čolić, an Orthodox ChristianOrthodox Christianity
The term Orthodox Christianity may refer to:* the Eastern Orthodox Church and its various geographical subdivisions...
, is a professor of Ottoman language and paleography at the University of Belgrade
University of Belgrade
The University of Belgrade is the oldest and largest university of Serbia.Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it merged with the Kragujevac-based departments into a single university...
and she holds a graduate degree in philosophy and a Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in philology
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
. She works as an associate professor teaching Turkish at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Philology
University of Belgrade Faculty of Philology
The Faculty of Philology is one of the constituent schools of the University of Belgrade. The school's purpose is to train and educate its students in the academic study or practice in linguistics and philology.-History:...
; and in Priština
Pristina
Pristina, also spelled Prishtina and Priština is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous municipality and district....
, she worked as guest professor at the Faculty of Philosophy.
Čolić was a deputy in the Federal Parliament and one of the founders of the Democratic Party of Serbia
Democratic Party of Serbia
The Democratic Party of Serbia is a political party in Serbia.-Foundation:The Democratic Party of Serbia was founded when a faction of the Democratic Party that supported its involvement in the Democratic Movement of Serbia split from the party and formed their own in 1992.Soon after the March...
. She speaks English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
, and Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
fluently.
Political life
Čolić was confirmed as Minister of Education and Sport in March 2004. As a conservative government superseded a reformist one, Dr. Čolić worked hard to alter and reverse changes from the previous government. These measures included: suspending the teaching of English from first grade; limiting the use of modern and sophisticated methods; and the introduction of Serbian Orthodox religious teaching as a compulsory subject from the first grade. She also banned computer sciences from schools because she considered them bad for health.She made an appearance in the international mass media spotlight on September 7, 2004, when she ordered Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n schools to suspend the teaching of evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
unless they introduced creationism
Creationism
Creationism is the religious beliefthat humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe are the creation of a supernatural being, most often referring to the Abrahamic god. As science developed from the 18th century onwards, various views developed which aimed to reconcile science with the Genesis...
. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/09/09/wdarw09.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/09/09/ixworld.html
Researchers, teachers, the Serbian Academy of Science and Arts and some 40 non-government organisations and human rights groups voiced their concern over such a move, including UNICEF. Nikola Tucić, a Belgrade University biology lecturer, described the education minister’s ruling as a "disaster." He stated that it was "outrageous" in a comment published by Glas Javnosti
Glas javnosti
Glas javnosti is a daily newspaper published in Belgrade.Its first issue appeared on April 20, 1998, published by a group of journalists from Blic daily who, led by Manojlo Vukotić, left to form their own newspaper.Initially, their new paper carried the Novi Blic name, but the Belgrade Commercial...
. He went on that teaching biology without Darwin is "senseless", "becoming a theocratic state and in the 21st century", and going "back to the Book of Revelations". The Serbian administration initially backed her decision, stating "accumulated scientific knowledge on the origin and development of man is full of voids"; however, after widespread protest, on September 9 of the same year, Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica
Vojislav Koštunica
Vojislav Koštunica is a Serbian politician, statesman and the president of the Democratic Party of Serbia. He was the last President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, succeeding Slobodan Milošević and serving from 2000 to 2003...
reversed the decision and announced that Čolić would be replaced.
On September 16, 2004, she resigned after talking with the prime minister. Slobodan Vuksanović
Slobodan Vuksanovic
Slobodan Vuksanović is a poet, essayist and translator who served as Minister of Education and Sport in the Government of Serbia from 2004 to 2007....
was named to replace her in October, 2004.
In June 2006 she published a book titled Put (path), staunchily defending her actions as a minister of education. On the official promoting of her book, she claimed that during her tenure, when she asked foreign advisors why they pushed so hard for the reform of Serbian education, she got answer that they need plumber
Plumber
A plumber is a tradesperson who specializes in installing and maintaining systems used for potable water, sewage, and drainage in plumbing systems. The term dates from ancient times, and is related to the Latin word for lead, "plumbum." A person engaged in fixing metaphorical "leaks" may also be...
s, not educated people (Politika
Politika
Politika is a Serbian newspaper. It is considered the newspaper of record and is the oldest daily in the Balkans, having been founded on January 25, 1904 by Vladislav Ribnikar. It is currently being published by Politika Newspapers and Magazines , a joint venture between Politika AD and...
newspapers, June 13, 2006, page 10).
Quotes
- It is normal that a minister's personality leaves a mark. This is my mark and time will tell if I was right.
- [on Darwinism] is a theoryTheoryThe English word theory was derived from a technical term in Ancient Greek philosophy. The word theoria, , meant "a looking at, viewing, beholding", and referring to contemplation or speculation, as opposed to action...
as dogmaDogmaDogma is the established belief or doctrine held by a religion, or a particular group or organization. It is authoritative and not to be disputed, doubted, or diverged from, by the practitioners or believers...
tic as the one which says GodGodGod is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
created the first man. (interview in Glas Javnosti) - [on Darwinism] His theory is taught in the sixth grade for 12 lessons. I doubt that anywhere in the world, Darwin's, still unconfirmed theory of the development of species, gets that much attention)
- Both theories exist in parallel and legitimately in the rest of the world.