Area: "\u0160olstvo"
Competent authority: MDDSZ
EZU URL: .nan
Initiative ID: 1049
Initiative accepted and completed: '2020-07-29'
Initiative classified in EZU: .nan
Initiative forwarded in response: '2020-06-30'
Initiative published: '2020-06-30'
Initiative submitted: '2020-06-22'
Response from the competent authority: "Reply from the Ministry of Labour, Family,\
  \ Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities:With regard to the petition regarding the\
  \ awarding of scholarships by the Public Scholarship, Development, Disability and\
  \ Maintenance Fund of the Republic of Slovenia (\"the Fund\"), the following clarifications\
  \ are provided within the scope of the Fund's competences, and we would like to\
  \ add that the General Administrative Procedure Act (the \"GAPA\") falls within\
  \ the competence of the Ministry of Public Administration.- Initiative: such calls\
  \ for tenders by public organisations contain a provision that the candidate must\
  \ indicate a functioning method of electronic service when applying, so that the\
  \ decision on the calls for tenders saves the 16 days otherwise lost waiting for\
  \ candidates to collect the registered call for completion of their application.\r\
  \nThe Fund is in the process of setting up a secure e-commerce system to provide\
  \ customers with a modern and more user-friendly way of doing business. In the meantime,\
  \ they are obliged to operate in the traditional way, so that applicants will send\
  \ the required supporting documents by post in accordance with the general administrative\
  \ procedure. However, the Fund's officials are working to ensure that as much communication\
  \ as possible with scholarship applicants, especially those from abroad, is carried\
  \ out by e-mail. Thus, in recent years, the practice has also been established in\
  \ the public call for applications for postgraduate scholarships in Slovenia, whereby\
  \ all applicants to the call for applications are first sent an informal e-mail\
  \ inviting them to complete their application. If the candidate still fails to complete\
  \ his/her application in full, an official summons must be issued to the candidate's\
  \ authorised person in the Republic of Slovenia, in accordance with the CPA. We\
  \ are aware of the lengthy process of completing applications, but this is also\
  \ due in no small part to the faculties themselves, which cannot issue certificates\
  \ of admission until the new academic year in which the student starts his/her studies\
  \ and for which he/she is applying for an Ad futura scholarship. This certificate\
  \ is often the only evidence that prevents the applicant from completing his/her\
  \ application and the Fund from finalising its decision. The Fund therefore appeals\
  \ to universities and other higher education institutions in Slovenia in particular\
  \ to listen to the above-mentioned problems and to find a solution themselves to\
  \ avoid these problems.- Initiative: in such calls for applications, it would be\
  \ possible to draw up a priority list of selected candidates, from which scholarships\
  \ are awarded in order until the funds are exhausted. The current call for applications,\
  \ in the event that one of the selected candidates withdraws from the scholarship\
  \ after the award decision has been issued, the funds earmarked for that candidate\
  \ are returned to the budget, rather than allowing the scholarship to be awarded\
  \ to the next candidate on the priority list, as is the case, for example, with\
  \ the allocation of rooms in the Ljubljana Student Residence.\r\nSupporting the\
  \ study mobility of foreigners to Slovenia is very important for the development\
  \ of higher education, as it allows internationalisation at home and thus the exchange\
  \ of cultural values and knowledge, which contributes to more varied and high-quality\
  \ studies in Slovenia. In addition to deepening cooperation with the countries from\
  \ which students come, we also help developing countries in the field of education\
  \ in this way, in terms of providing educated staff for their further development.\
  \ High-quality foreign students also represent a potential workforce for us after\
  \ graduation, and we therefore strive to attract high-quality students from abroad.\
  \ This can only be achieved on the basis of criteria such as previous academic achievements\
  \ and others, which means evaluating each application on its own merits. For this\
  \ reason, the Fund cannot agree with the proposed method, i.e. to award the scholarship\
  \ only on the basis of a complete application on a first-come, first-served basis,\
  \ as this would not be in line with the purpose of the call for proposals.\r\nAs\
  \ regards the return of unused funds to the budget, it should be clarified that\
  \ if a candidate withdraws from a grant in due time, i.e. immediately after a successful\
  \ decision has been issued, the Fund will normally offer the grant immediately to\
  \ the next candidate who has dropped out of the priority list in terms of points,\
  \ thus ensuring that the funds are used in accordance with the original purpose.\r\
  \nIt should be added that for last year's generation of scholarship holders, the\
  \ decision-making process was completed in November."
Text file: 1049.txt
Title: Ad futura - accelerating the choice of scholarships
URL: https://www.stopbirokraciji.gov.si/pobuda/?st=1049
