Deputies approved the reform of universities, against which academics rebelled. It changes the election of the rector and studies for Ukrainians – Denník N

After more than a year of protests, negotiations and compromises, the parliament approved an amendment to the Higher Education Act. It is much milder than the original proposal. The fundamental change is that the rector of the university will be elected not only by academics, but also by people from outside. The rector should be elected more transparently and people from abroad will be able to take on the positions of professors more easily. The adoption of the amendment to the Higher Education Act means that Slovakia will meet the milestone of the recovery plan, from which we will receive more than 200 million euros from the European Union for the reform of higher education. The law has yet to be assessed by President Zuzana Čaputová, who has the power to return it to the National Council. The amendment was supposed to bring about a fundamental reform of universities, but they rebelled against it and called it the end of academic freedom. Experts, on the other hand, argued that academia was too closed to itself and needed to open up. The first protest was launched by universities last March, when the Ministry of Education first introduced an amendment to the law. Universities called it a return to the pre-Gentle Revolution state and criticized it for having no discussion with them. There were lengthy discussions throughout the year, and in the end the amendment to the law underwent so many changes that the amendment was read by MP Richard Vašečka in parliament for almost half an hour. In the end, the law was supported by a comfortable majority of 86 coalition deputies out of 133 present. There were 43 deputies, only deputies of the opposition. Four deputies abstained, including Tomáš Valášek, who left the Za lidí club and is now a member of Progressive Slovakia. “I think the maximum has been achieved. These are changes that are changing the power centers at universities, which is never easy, “comments Renáta Hall, the prime minister’s adviser to universities. According to her, the reforms were also carried out abroad. “So I think it’s perfectly fine, if that’s the case here. Jump changes This article is the exclusive content for subscribers of Diary N. Are you a subscriber?