The amendment to the Higher Education Act will shorten external studies and change the election of the rector – Topky.sk

At present, the rector is elected by the academic senate. As the Secretary of State of the Ministry of Education Ľudovít Paulis explained on Monday, it will look different after the new one. “The Rector will be jointly elected in cooperation by the Academic Senate and the Board of Trustees as a whole,” said Paulis. As he further explained, the board will have at least “a quarter of the number of members of the Senate”, with the maximum number of chambers being 64. “The maximum number of members of the Management Board shall be 16 and the minimum number shall be eight,” stated. The same change should occur in the event of dismissal of the Rector.

The task of the amendment to the Act is also a systemic change in the management of public universities with the intention of its modernization so as to make decision-making processes more flexible at the level of universities as well as at the level of faculties. Uniform minimum criteria for filling the position of associate professor and professor should also be defined and for the systematic unrecognition of these positions for degrees. The aim is also to increase transparency in the position of rector of a public university by introducing the institute of public hearing.

The amendment to the law shortens external studies back to five years. The task is also the possibility of obtaining funds conditioned by the fulfillment of measurable indicators, these will be so-called performance contracts. Thanks to them, according to the Ministry of Education, it will be possible to better connect higher education with practice, which will take into account the needs of the labor market and will help students to choose a profession that has a good job.

The goal is also more efficient management of universities. According to Paulis, the current management at universities is not optimal. The accreditations of the habilitation and inauguration proceedings are also to be divided into two separate types of accreditations. The systemic change will also affect the creation of teacher study programs. The composition of the presidency of the Agency for the Support of Research and Development and the opening up to civic associations operating in the field of research and development should also be adjusted, and transparency will be increased by adding a member for the Representation of the European Commission in the Slovak Republic. Deadlines for the delivery of loan applications should also be made more flexible.

Another change is the funding of universities according to quality, which will allow schools to profile themselves according to their strengths. The university, where employees do quality research, advance in their field and at the same time pass on the latest knowledge from the field to students, will receive more funding.