Higher Education Reforms in the Slovak Republic

Abstract

The 'velvet revolution' of November 1989 came rather abruptly and some features of the system changed within a few weeks. This revolution consisted of two parts: the first aimed to abandon the system of totalitarian rule by one party and democratise society as a whole, while the second was similar to the student revolts of 1968 in Western Europe. Because of this abruptness there was pressure to modify some features of the previous system of higher education at once. Some of these changes were indeed carried out very rapidly, but it was soon realised that the transformation of higher education was a long and difficult task which would stretch over a decade or more. The Czech and Slovak Federal Republic has been split into two independent states since the beginning of 1993. The separation is bound to lessen the previous cooperation between Czech and Slovak universities, their teachers, and scientists in other institutions, which is a negative effect in itself, but one which will also have a negative influence on higher education indirectly because of the ensuing economic problems. And, as always, the effects will have a stronger impact on the smaller country. Nonetheless, higher education in the Czech and Slovak Republic developed for more than 40 years under the same legislation and although I have more experience of higher education in the Slovak Republic, some of the issues are also generally valid for the Czech Republic.