Ex-rector "confirmed" ministry's claims - minister

Ex-rector "confirmed" ministry's claims - minister

BELGRADE -- Former Megatrend rector Mića Jovanović's public presentation of his "PhD from another university" only confirms the Education Ministry's previous statements.

This is according to Education Minister Srđan Verbić, who spoke on Monday.

"Jovanović has actually confirmed what we released in a statement - that he does not have a PhD from the London School of Economics and Political Sciences from 1983," Verbić told reporters while visiting an elementary school in Belgrade.

Jovanović, who previously claimed that he had a doctoral title from the London School of Economics, publicly presented earlier his doctoral thesis defended before the British Council for National Academic Awards in January 1989.

Verbić said that the education ministry is collecting data on the new thesis that Jovanović presented to the public.

"We are collecting data on that doctoral thesis and consulting with lawyers whether the ministry should deal with the issue," he said.

Verbić stressed that "Megatrend students should not feel any consequences that might arise from the developments."

The private university announced over the weekend that Jovanović's resignation as rector had been accepted, something the minister welcomed on Monday.

Jovanović remains the educational institution's owner.

The controversy started when the website Peščanik first accused Interior Minister and high ranking ruling SNS party official Nebojša Stefanović of plagiarizing his doctoral thesis, earned from Megatrend, and later went on to report that the university's rector had fake academic credentials.

Verbić on Monday...