AT A DEAD END

Since the Velvet Revolution the Slovak university network has grown enormously. Just since 2001 24 institutions have been established and the demand for university diplomas has increased as well. From 2002 to 2007 the number of students rose by 50%, to 210,000. Although the financial package allocated for universities has been increasing (last year it was 418 million euros), it wasn’t enough for the growing number of students. The number of students had increased by 50%, but the financial aid for each individual increased only by 25%, which didn’t even take inflation into account. Possibilities of financial aid increase for schools are limited. For example, the introduction of a fee for full-time students would never pass. The Ministry of Education decided in this case to revive a seven year old idea of so-called complex university accreditation. This can be understood as a competition for limited sources. Competition doesn’t necessarily mean bad. The bad news is that the development up to now concerning accreditation implies that Ján Mikolaj doesn’t want to play fair.  I Pg 28