University Council Slams Draft Education Bill as Threat to Academic Autonomy

Bratislava, 21 July (TASR) – The Slovak Council of Higher Education Institutions (RVS) considers the draft of a new Higher Education Act to be legally unprepared, substantively poor, and a step towards further weakening of academic self-governance, warning that its adoption could lead to frequent and unnecessary amendments that would destabilise the higher education environment, RVS chair Martin Putala told TASR on Monday. RVS is calling for the draft’s immediate withdrawal. „RVS demands the immediate withdrawal of the bill and its complete reworking into a simplified version through a partnership dialogue with the academic community. Only then can a modern, sustainable, and autonomy-respecting legislation be conceived that contributes to the development of Slovak higher education,” Putala said. According to RVS, adopting the current proposal would force a full revision of internal regulations at universities, many of which were only recently adopted or updated. It would also increase administrative burdens without added value, and could discourage academic staff from participating in governance — posing a threat to university democracy. RVS also notes that the draft brings no systemic improvements and introduces unnecessary regulation in areas where academic self-governance should prevail. It further criticises the curtailing of powers of academic senates. RVS warns that the proposed changes could jeopardise the recognition of Slovak higher education within the European Higher Education Area and weaken the authority of university self-governing bodies. According to the Council, some provisions strip academic senates of key powers and broaden the grounds for removing board members without clear justification — opening the door to political interference in higher education. Another concern is the new method of removing the executive board of the Slovak Accreditation Agency for Higher Education. The Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth submitted the proposal for interdepartmental review in early July. mf