Thursday, April 11, 2002

Slovakian Universities Denounce Law That Eliminates Fees for Distance Learning By BURTON BOLLAG Bratislava, Slovakia A provision in Slovakia's new higher-education law that bars public universities from charging fees for popular distance-study programs has been denounced by the universities as foolish and counterproductive. About 40,000 people are enrolled as "external students" at Slovakia's 20 public higher-education institutions. They receive part of their instruction by correspondence, with occasional classes on weekends. Unlike the country's 92,000 normal day students, who study free of charge, external students pay for their studies, from $250 to $650 per year. In recent years, external-study programs have become both an important source of income for Slovakia's beleaguered institutions and a mechanism to meet a part of the growing demand for higher education that far exceeds the number of normal slots for full-time study. The new higher-education law took effect at the beginning of the month. It requires universities to stop collecting fees for their external-study programs as of the new academic year, which begins next fall. The education minister, Milan Ftacnik, a member of a center-left successor party to the old Communist Party, said the ban was needed because fees make it harder for poorer people to study. "Every citizen must have equal access to university education," he said. But the country's university heads, who fought an unsuccessful battle against the prohibition, have denounced it. A number of universities have said that they will cut back or discontinue their external programs. Matej Bel University, in the city of Banská Bystrica, has been one of the most active in developing such programs. Its rector, Milan Murgas, said, "This populist law makes it impossible for thousands of students to study." Significantly, even student representatives lobbied against the ban. Renáta Králiková, who heads the Student Council of Higher Education Institutions in Slovakia, said that because of the high demand, she expects external programs to continue. But in the future, she predicted, they will be organized as private businesses, while continuing to employ moonlighting public-university professors to provide courses. "There are people who are willing to pay. Now they will pay someone other than the universities," she said. The issue of study fees, for distance or full-time studies, has been a major source of political dispute in the former Communist countries. In Western Europe, too, where only Britain charges substantial tuition, other governments are beginning to consider the controversial idea more seriously. The reason everywhere is that fast-growing enrollments are imposing ever-greater burdens on state budgets. In Slovakia, the universities say they hope the law can be changed after the next general election, scheduled for September. Easy-to-print version E-mail this article

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