The Chamber of Deputies will deal with an amendment to the Higher Education Act in its second reading, which will simplify administrative processes and raise the quality of universities thanks to new conditions for doctoral students. In the first reading, MPs will discuss an amendment to the Election Campaigns Act, which will unify the rules for all types of elections and bring changes to campaign financing and transparency. The course of the whole debate is also expected to affect the handling of the floods and their impact.
We want better quality universities and more transparent and fair election campaigns
"One of the main benefits of the amendment to the Higher Education Act is the improvement of conditions for doctoral students. The newly guaranteed minimum income will not only improve their financial situation, but will also allow them to better balance their studies with their personal life and work obligations. At the same time, the amendment also tightens the criteria for the actual selection of doctoral students, which will lead to a reduction in the total number of doctoral students and thus allow more intensive support for those who are studying. By supporting foreign students through the removal of fees for studying in a foreign language in doctoral programmes, we are giving a clear signal that Czech universities are open to the world and want to attract the best talent," said Jan Berki, MP and member of the House Committee on Science, Education, Culture, Youth and Sports.
The amendment also introduces the digitisation of processes at universities, which will bring greater efficiency to the functioning of universities and contribute to a better learning environment. In addition, stricter sanctions for the unauthorised use of academic degrees are introduced.
MPs will also discuss a new draft law on election campaigns from the Ministry of the Interior: "This law is absolutely key to ensuring that elections in the Czech Republic are fair and transparent. Codifying the rules into one regulation will not only unify the approach to campaigns, but also limit the possibility of circumventing the existing rules, which we have seen in practice," Vladimír Balaš, the Mayors' deputy, explained. "One of our main goals is to minimize the influence of foreign powers on our elections, especially undemocratic ones. This is a critical issue in these times when cyber security is increasingly important. By digitising campaign finance, we will not only make it easier to monitor political party spending, but also ensure a higher level of control without unnecessary administrative burden. We are trying to strike a balance between transparency and efficiency," Balas added the main changes. Other changes include the extension of the rules to local elections, the timing of the start of campaigns, and stricter conditions for entities that can participate in financing election campaigns.
As the Government also stated at yesterday's press conference, the regional and senate elections will be held on the originally scheduled date. "The Government, the Interior Ministry and the regions are ready to provide the affected municipalities with the maximum necessary assistance in organising the elections. The date cannot be postponed for legislative reasons. A state of emergency would have to be declared throughout the whole territory of the Czech Republic, for which there is no reason. Subsequently, the new date would have to be approved by Parliament and the President by law. This is not realistic within three days," Jan Lacina, deputy chair of the Mayors' Party, said at the press conference. He also thanked all the emergency services, mayors, governors and the government for their work.
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