Resolution

Czech Rectors Conference (CRC) Plenum adopted at its 127th Meeting following resolution:

1. CRC welcomes progress achieved in preparing the Amendment to the Higher Education Institutions Act and supports its approval in the form which has arisen from negotiations with higher education institutions representations.
2. CRC is ready to engage actively in discussion on sustainability strategy and assessment of projects within the Operational Programme “Research and Development for Innovation”.
3. CRC is concerned about the proposal of the Ministry of Finance of the Czech Republic suggesting a reduction of 400 mil. CZK compared to this year's condition in the higher education institutions budget for 2015. The budget for higher education institutions has been reduced during the economic crisis in previous years and the amount expended per student has fallen to a level that poses a threat to the quality of studies. CRC calls for keeping the current budget amount with gradual reduction in the number of students due to a demographic decline in order to increase the amount per student.
4. Public higher education institutions understand the interest of the State to have the best overview on public finances in the issue of regulation on consolidated financial statements, the so-called Consolidation regulation, but demand that public higher education institutions not be included in it and that, in general, its impact on public higher education institutions not be significant and not limit their autonomous status.
5. CRC fundamentally disagrees with modifications of projects implementation rules within the Operational Programme "Research and Development for Innovation" which came into effect on 1 September 2014 since existence and sustainability of research teams of these projects are directly threatened by these modifications.

Přerov, 4 September 2014