Resolution
131st Czech Rectors Conference Plenum Meeting
back to the List 4.6.2015 | Přerov PDF (132 kB)
Czech Rectors Conference (CRC) Plenum adopted at its 131st Meeting following resolution:
- CRC supports the amendment to the Higher Education Institutions Act, which is discussed in the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, and suggests to adopt only minor adjustments discussed with the Presidium of the Council of Higher Education Institutions and with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.
- CRC calls for adequate funding of educational activities at public higher education institutions and asks the Government of the Czech Republic to increase planned budget allocation for the chapter of higher education institutions in the draft of the state budget for 2016, at least to maintain the chapter budget level for 2015.
- CRC supports version of the act on support of research, development and innovation enabling establishment of a central government body for research, development and innovation led by the Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Czech Republic. In case of positive experience with functioning of such institution it will be possible to consider a higher level of institutional interconnection with higher education institutions.
- CRC states that Czech higher education institutions are and stay open to all students and teachers without distinction of race and religion and calls upon all for mutual tolerance. CRC appeals to its members for not allowing any activity of extremist nature on their campuses and believes that foreign students will respect cultural and social traditions of the Czech Republic.
- CRC drew the attention of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports on a number of still unclear points related to the implementation of projects from the Operational Programme Research, Development and Education and calls for methodical resolution in cooperation with higher education institutions.
- CRC invites the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for research, development and innovation to address the issue of financing electronic information resources after 2017 when current support through the programme "Information – the basis of research" and the Operational Programme Research and Development for Innovation is ending.
- CRC observes with great concern actions of the Centre for International Cooperation in relation to higher education institutions and in particular to foreign mobility programmes (Erasmus+) and appeals to the management of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports for fundamental transformation of the Centre for International Cooperation. CRC asks the Centre for International Cooperation to prepare an analysis of internationalization support of higher education institutions which is implemented by the Centre and to submit the analysis to CRC and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports. The analysis should focus on both the evaluation of programmes encouraging cooperation and mobility as well as on promotion of Czech higher education institutions abroad.
- The President of the Czech Republic refuses to sign professor appointment certificates to three Associate Professors of two public higher education institutions, and thus, in the opinion of CRC, violates the law. CRC supports awarding the appointment certificates to other professors in a dignified way in Karolinum on 12 June 2015 under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.
- CRC thanks the resigning Minister of Education, Youth and Sports, Dr. Marcel Chládek, MBA, for his co-operative stance on the issue of higher education of the Czech Republic.
Přerov, 4 June 2015
On behalf of the Czech Rectors Conference
Prof. Dr. Tomáš Zima
President
