Tuition fees are quite a pressing issue for students. Does it work as a motivator, as its proponents say? Or does it, in a way, cut off talented students?
The introduction of tuition fees arouses passions
The introduction of tuition fees in universities is a topic that returns to the public arena from time to time and is intensely debated.
The last time a government advisory body - NERV - came up with this proposal was in late 2022. At that time, it presented it as one of the possible ways to ensure a sustainable state budget. However, former rectors and the then Minister of Education Vladimír Balas expressed their opposition to this position.
His successor. Clearly, this is an issue that arouses considerable emotion.
Students who are potentially affected by tuition fees often think of them as a barrier that could close their path to study. At the same time, tuition fees can act as an effective motivator. Even the current Prime Minister, Petr Fiala, openly expressed his views on this idea some time ago when he was still rector of Masaryk University.
Tuition fees motivate students
Tuition fees have a real possibility to change the students' view of their studies. When combined with a specific financial amount, many of them realise that education is a kind of investment that will pay off in the future.
The introduction of tuition fees should therefore clearly not be a 'scarecrow' in itself. Tuition fees cannot be liquidating for students and, where justified, it is of course necessary to set up effective mechanisms to reduce the financial burden.
A similar system is used by the European Training Academy, which is based on intensive interaction with students and requires a high degree of personal involvement. Tuition fees thus fit very effectively into this principle. However, the European Training Academy allows the use of an elaborate system of bonuses and scholarships. This system makes our studies accessible to all who have the desire to learn.
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