Ljiljana Colic
Ljiljana Colić (born 1956), an Orthodox Christian, is the former Minister of Education and Sport in the Government of Serbia. She was born in Zemun, Belgrade, and holds a graduate degree in philosophy and a Ph.D. in philology. Colic works as an associate professor teaching Turkish at the Faculty of Philology, University of Belgrade. In Pristina she used to work as guest professor at the Faculty of Philosophy. Colic is 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 was confirmed as Minister of Education and Sport in March 2004. As a conservative government superceded a reformist one, Dr. Colic's reversals of former policy lasted for three years. They included suspending the teaching of English from first grade, using 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 international mass media spotlight on September 7, 2004, when she ordered Serbian schools to suspend the teaching of evolution unless they introduced creationism.
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. Belgrade University biology lecturer Nikola Tucic called the education minister?s ruling a "disaster." "This is outrageous. Teaching biology without Darwin is senseless. We are slowly turning into a theocratic state and in the 21st century we are going back to the Book of Revelations," Tucic told the daily newspaper Glas Javnosti. 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 Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica reversed the decision and announced that Colic would be replaced.
On September 16, 2004, she resigned after talk with prime minister.
Quotes
- It is normal that a minister's personality leaves a mark. This is my mark and time will tell if I was right.
- [Darwinism] is a theory as dogmatic as the one which says God created the first man. (interview in Glas Javnosti)
- Both theories exist in parallel and legitimately in the rest of the world.
- The words written by Desanka Maksimovic "Od kolevke pa do groba najlepse je skolsko doba" should lead you through your school time" - referring to new pupils on the start of new school year. (She misquoted the sentence and mistaken its writer Branko Radicevic with Desanka Maksimovic
