At its April meeting in Ostrava, the Czech Rectors Conference refused to accept a reduction in funding from the already approved state budget for the year 2018, claiming that it would have a far-reaching negative impact on the financing of research and development in different areas. “Changes to the state budget during the year which are not justified by unexpected circumstances bring a non-systemic element into the planning of expenses, so reducing predictability in the behaviour of state authorities. A political discussion about the expenditure priorities of the government is legitimate, but it should be held when the state budget is in preparation, not after its approval by Parliament,” wrote the Czech Rectors in a joint statement.
The Czech Rectors Conference also rejected comments critical of the European Union’s Erasmus+ Programme made by Lubomír Volný, an MP for the Freedom and Direct Democracy Party (SPD) who is a member of the Parliamentary Commission for Science and Education. According to the Czech news portal Aktualne.cz, Volný declared that the Erasmus Programme was attended by campus loafers, that students spend foreign stays in a golden cage, and that they return home with an uncritical attitude to the European Union.
“The Erasmus+ Programme makes a significant contribution to the broadening of Czech university students’ experience and knowledge, and so to the strengthening of Czech competitiveness,” said the Rectors.