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Statement of the Management of Charles University on the Financing of Public Universities

This statement represents the public comment of Charles University on the current situation in connection with the planned nationwide “Hour of Truth” event, which will take place on Teachers’ Day on 28 March 2023, with the announced participation of many faculties of public universities across the Czech Republic. Despite unfavourable economic conditions, this project is an important contribution to the current debate and efforts to reverse the long-term negative trends in the financing of public universities.

The management of Charles University wishes to express its considerable concern about the structural underfunding of the public higher education sector, which is having an impact on many of its employees. The last few years have seen some success in compensating for the lack of funding with regard to expenditure on regional education. In the area of higher education, although funding has increased in absolute amounts in recent years, the increase is currently far below the level of inflation, and evidence for insufficient funding can be found in various macroeconomic data and in international comparisons. The management of Charles University strongly points out that a robust and high-quality higher education sector is a prerequisite for the competitiveness of the Czech Republic in all fields and across numerous professions. Increasing the budget of public higher education is essential not only in the context of equal conditions for the entire education system in the Czech Republic and the resilience of universities, but also in connection with the growing demographic curve, and thus the need for strategic planning in order to ensure sufficient capacities for incoming applicants. The underfunding of the higher education sector is most noticeable in the field of payroll, and not only at social science or humanities faculties. Along with the not entirely standard payroll structure, a significant part of which is linked to project resources compared to other sectors, the impact of insufficient institutional funding is of crucial importance in the current economic situation.

Since it assumed office more than a year ago, the management of Charles University has been actively working with the management of individual faculties to develop specific steps for improving the situation and prospective development, in which the management of the faculties must be the implementers of other internal measures, in mutual and essential agreement with the rest of the University's academic community. A discussion is currently underway about parametric adjustments of internal mechanisms for the distribution of funds, increasing support and investment development opportunities for better quality assurance of faculty activities, and systematic support for participation in project schemes. Last but not least, the management of the University is aware of the role of Charles University as a centre of scholarship across the entire spectrum of the social sciences and humanities (and not only them) and is endeavouring to find ways to fulfil this role. The management of Charles University is also ready to enter into discussions with the relevant state administration bodies on the possible use of a mechanism for supporting social demand, an existing tool for supporting strategic and long-term social priorities that universities are unable to address within the bounds of their own autonomy.

Although the management of Charles University is adopting a number of specific and analytically based measures, it is not realistic to expect internal mechanisms to independently resolve the long-term, systematic underfunding of the entire sector. This is all the more urgent now, in synergy with an unprecedented economic situation, the effects of which we are feeling in all areas of the functioning of the academic environment. This situation is more than obvious across the entire spectrum of degree programmes at Charles University, and not only there. While the management of the University will continue its efforts to implement effective measures to operate more efficiently, it expects substantial support from the government and the Ministry of Education of the Czech Republic in negotiations for increased financing. The management of Charles University is communicating with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports and expects that cooperation will result in the negotiation of appropriate funds both this year and with a significant growth dynamic in the preparation of the budget for 2024 and the subsequent medium-term outlook.

Following on from the aforementioned, the management of Charles University fully supports the resolution of the higher education institutions, namely the statements of the Czech Conference of Rectors of 17 February 2023 (here CZECH ONLY) and 24 March 2023 (here CZECH ONLY) , and agrees with the resolution of the Council of Higher Education Institutions of the Czech Republic of 9 February 2023 (here CZECH ONLY), which summarizes the alarming development of the share of the higher education budget in the budget of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports and the ratio of the higher education budget to GDP.

The management of Charles University firmly believes that the current situation will be remedied through the cooperation of all stakeholders and interested parties and on the basis of objectively verifiable data, political consensus and repeatedly declared promises. Despite the unfavourable economic situation, we now have a unique opportunity to rectify the current situation while not jeopardizing the possibility of high-quality higher education for future generations.