paid contributions explaining its actions by the fact that their priority basis of insurance is the labor relation. Taking into account that employers did not pay to the stated persons contributions for mandatory social insurance and the PDI Fund failed to take measures towards employers of complainants due to their failure to pay contributions for social insurance or recognized contributions paid on the basis of the performance of independent and agricultural business, in the manner which prevented complainants from exercising their right to pension to the full extent, the Protector of Citizens recommended to the PDI Fund passing of new decisions on the right to pension by which the period for which complainants paid contributions for pension and disability insurance will be included in their years of service and the amount of pension will be recalculated starting from the day of filing of the request for the exercise of the right to pension.215 The Protector of Citizens confirms that the Republic Pension and Disability Insurance Fund failed to act in compliance with issued recommendations. Education As in previous reporting periods, in this one too, good cooperation between the Protector of Citizens and Ministry of Education, Science and Technological development was continued. The educational authorities and institutions respond timely to requests of the Protector of Citizens and submit requested information. The problem which still occurs is untimely actions of ENIC/NARIC Serbia (organizational unit of the Qualification Agency which performs the activities of collecting and providing information in the process of recognition of public documents abroad and conducts the procedure of evaluation of the foreign program of study with the aim of employment) and Qualification Agency (recognizes foreign school documents and conducts the procedure of the recognition of foreign higher education documents with the aim of employment, pursuant to the Law on the National Qualification Framework of the Republic of Serbia and the law which regulates higher education), upon requests for the recognition of foreign higher education documents with the aim of employment. The complaints also indicated to the problems with regards to issuing of higher education documents, untimely actions of institutions of higher education upon requests of students and employees, as well as irregularities and illegalities in the election process of teachers and associates at institutions of higher education. During the reporting period the problem in the conduct of the final exam in 2018/2019 school year occurred when persons employed at printing facilities, who were engaged in printing and packing of tests, obtained tests illegally and made them publicly available. With regards to this, the Protector of Citizens, acting upon his own initiative, issued to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development the opinion with recommendations.216 The fact that illegal conducts occurred outside the educational system – in printing presses which were bound by contracts with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development not only to perform the activity but also to keep the confidentiality of tests – indicate that entrusting of these tasks to legal entities which are not part of the educational system and are not subject to the Ministry oversight are “a weak ling” and important risk factor in the organization of the final exam. The existing legal framework provides sufficiently Recommendation available at: https://ombudsman.rs/index.php/2012-02-07-14-03-33/5963-r-public-i-f-nd-zp-nzi-s-i-inv-lids-sigur-nj-d-d-n-s-n-v-r-sh-nj-pr-vu-n-p-nzi-u-pri-uzi-ci. 216 Opinion with recommendations available at: https://www.ombudsman.rs/index.php/2011-12-11-11-3445/6235-ishlj-nj-s-pr-p-ru-inis-rs-vu-pr-sv-n-u-i-hn-l-sh-g-r-zv. 215 - 107 -