CCCCC AA RRRRR OOOO LL II NN N AA CC AA A RR R OO O LL II NNN N AA A CC AA A RRRRR OO O LL II NN N N AA A CC AAAAAA RR R OO O LL II NN NN AAAAAA CCCCC AA A RR R OOOO LLLLLL II NN N AA A STUDENT'S E-MAIL NEWS FROM CZECHOSLOVAKIA School of Social Science of Charles University Smetanovo nabr. 6 110 01 Prague 1 C.S.F.R. e-mail address: CAROLINA@CSEARN.BITNET *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* C A R O L I N A No 55, Friday, December 18, 1992. THE UNIVERSITY OF TRNAVA IN DETAILS AND ALSO DIFFERENTLY By Lenka Klasterkova Ondrej Such Robert Lahoda The University of Trnava (UT) was founded as early as 1635. At the beginning it had only two Faculties: Faculty of Philosophy and Faculty of Theology. Later Faculty of Law was added and the number was completed to required four by addition of Faculty of Medicine. Thus, UT became the first complete Hungarian university. Prompted by complaints of citizens of Trnava, the empress Marie Tereza decreed in 1777 that the university be moved to Budin. Who assisted at the re-birth of UT this year? The answer is one of a few things all involved parties can agree upon. It was professor RNDr. Julius Kovac, CSc (although what was his motivation is interpreted by all involved in rather different ways, we shall discuss is it as well). Thus, the initial part of the following discussion is based primarily on his recollections as it was recorded by Slovak press and by us personally. How it started Mr. Kovac was trying to renew UT for over 12 years. He found a place and started to prepare the concept of the university. Right after November 1989 events he visited then the chairman of VPN (Public Against Violence) in Trnava Mr. Oktavec with a complete proposal for UT, but to no avail. Together with his team of associates they modified the proposal to its final form calling for re-establishment of a university in Trnava carrying name of Anton Bernolak. This proposal was then submitted to the ministry of education of Slovak republic in 1992 by a group comprising Julius Kovac, Jan Sokol, the Archbishop of Trnava and the Patriarch of Slovakia, Arpad Matejka, the director of the ONV (Regional National Council), ing. J. Borbely, the director of the MNV (City National Council), and Karel Kabat, a representative of coalition parties in the region of Trnava. Then the minister of education Ladislav Kovac reacted favourably (as did later his replacement Jan Pisut), and so the Accreditation Commission approved the proposal, of course with some modification. Changes The proposal as submitted called for establishment of four Faculties - Faculty of Theology, Faculty of Education, Faculty of Ecology, and Faculty of Humanities. The Faculty of Ecology was not approved on the grounds that it involved a multi-discipline study which would be available in parts in other Faculties. The existence of a Faculty of Theology in Bratislava precluded the establishment of a similar Faculty in Trnava. It was, though, assumed that UT would be later extended by a Jesuit Faculty of Theology and by a Faculty of Nursing and Social Sciences. In this way the Christian spirit of the proposed university was to be established, even though the university was planned to become a state university later on. The Faculty of Education was to focus on 1st (junior) and 2nd (intermediate) level of elementary school teaching, the Faculty of Humanities was to include the disciplines of philosophy, psychology, classical languages, and social and health sciences. The individual disciplines were profiled in such a way as to fit to the established system if universities in Czechoslovakia and to avoid duplications with other universities. The particular needs of Trnava region were also included in plans, together with the realities of the job market in the region, and so every discipline was assigned after a competition a particular guarantor. The educational plans and curriculums were made, instructors hired with at least one third of them coming from the public sector (i.e. state employees). To assure the appropriate real estate for the university, some of the buildings proposed for the university were removed from the privatization process. For historical reasons, the name of the university was changed to University of Trnava. The Accreditation Commission approved this modified proposal and the minister of education Pisut was to submit it to the next session of SNR (Slovak National Council - Slovak parliament). In fact, it was submitted by members of SNR and not by the minister. Why? Jan Pisut offered an explanation, he had intended to do so, but as a part of a complete plan of development of universities, and that had caused the delay, the members of parliament had been just plain quicker. On March 15, 1992, the bill establishing the University of Trnava to the date of July 1, 1992, was adopted. A secret weapon of KDH and ODU? At the same time another university - Academia Istropolitana whose main task was to be preparation of experts for public administration - was proposed to be established. According to professor Kovac this university was conceived as an insurance for KDH (Christian Democratic Union) and ODU (Civic Democratic Union) against a defeat in the coming parliament elections. However, SNR did not pass a bill establishing the university. Two Steering Committees At this juncture it is necessary to explain the existence of two Steering Committees. Julius Kovac claims that the first committee consisted of himself and his associates who prepared the original proposal for University of Trnava. This group did exist, but was never granted a legal status as a Steering Committee. The second (though officially the first) Steering Committee was established by SNR and its aim was to ensure high professional and moral standards for the proposed university. Minister Pisut, himself a member of the committee, approved the committee on June 1, and appointed Dr. Anton Hajduk, Dr.Sc. its chairman. J. Kovac levels a lot of criticism at this committee, for its members did not participate on the preparations of the proposal (some of the members even directly refused any cooperation on the proposal in the past, and Mr. Hajduk in particular with explanation that he had no expertise concerning universities) and so they were taking over the real doers who were shoved aside. That Mr. Kovac considers immoral. In addition, Mr. Kovac thinks that there is no real need for the committee as the proposal is completed and approved. Appointment On the request of the minister of education Pisut the president of CSFR Vaclav Havel appointed by decree on May 15 RNDr. J. Hajduk the rector of UT, while the university did not yet officially exist. It is necessary to stress that according to the law a candidate for rector of a university is chosen from among full and associate professors of the university by the Academic Senate of the university, and the selection is then submitted to the minister of education for approval. The agenda for appointments of rectors is administered by the Department of Universities and Adult Education at the Ministry of Education. But the people at the department including its Head learned about Hajduk's appointment only from the daily press. Letters The Ministry of Education of Slovak republic obtained inquiries from the Council of Universities on June 26 and from the Ministry of State Control on July 16 concerning the process of how the rector of UT had been selected and appointed. Based on these inquires Mr. Slobodnik (after June elections the acting minister of education till September 16 when Matus Kucera became the minister) wrote a letter on July 28 to the Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia Jan Strasky (who as the Prime Minister assumed most of presidential powers when the president resigned) requesting nullification of the appointment of Dr. Hajduk on the grounds of irregularities and the fact that Dr. Hajduk was neither a full nor an associate professor. At the same time he requested that professor Kovac be appointed as the acting rector until the Academic Senate selects a new candidate. Based on the reply of Mr. Strasky that the appointment was legally invalid and hence not binding, Mr. Slobodnik asked Dr. Hajduk on August 25 to step down and hand over the office to professor Kovac who was appointed by him to the helm of UT. Prime Minister Strasky refused to appoint professor Kovac as the acting rector of UT on the grounds that he was not selected by the Academic Senate. Mr. Hajduk refused to officially accept the letter from minister Slobodnik and so the letter had to be officially registered at the secretariat of UT. The next day another letter from the minister arrives requesting Dr. Hajduk to immediately cease performing any and all acts in the capacity of the rector, as his appointment to the function bears no legal authority. The letter also warns that Dr. Hajduk may be held financially liable for any possible expenses incurred since that day. The office and all material concerning the initial functioning of the university was to be handed to a person with an authorising letter from the minister. Mr. Hajduk refused these requests on the grounds that Prime Minister Strasky only expressed his personal opinions, (To illuminate Mr. Strasky's position let us cite from his letter to the Chairman of the Academic Senate of UT Mr. M. Slivka dated September 18: "... I consider the whole process of the appointment legally invalid from the start. My opinion, of course, is not taking into account the actual ramifications following from its retroactive nature.") Minister Slobodnik asked again on September 2 that the Prime Minister makes a univocal decision on the matter. The Prime Minister Strasky replied in a letter dated September 7 in which he reiterated that the appointment had been legally invalid since the beginning. Therefore minister Slobodnik requested on September 9 that Dr.Hajduk hands under the protocol the office and all materials including the results of entrance exams (they were taking place in the period of September 8 to 19) in full to 14:00 of that day at the latest into the hands of Doc. ing. L. Harach, CSc who had just been appointed by minister Slobodnik to lead UT in the interim. However, before that Dr. Hajduk had already temporarily transferred the executive powers of rector to his deputy prorector Regend (but stayed in the function of rector) and thus had officially nothing to hand over. This prompted minister Slobodnik to visit the university personally and have the door lock at the rector's office replaced to deny Dr. Hajduk an access there. Two Opinions Concerning this appointment, here is a statement of Vladimir Chovald, the Director of the Departement of Universities and Adult Education at the Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic, as he wrote it in the letter addressed to the Council of Universities of the SR, to the Academic Senates (AS) and to the Heads of Universities of the SR on September 18: "Although Hajduk was alerted on Aug. 26, both in person and in writing, to the lack of legitimacy of his appointment to the post of the Rector, he kept concluding work agreements with instructors, and on Sept. 1, he initiated elections into the AS to which he subsequently submitted a recommendation for a prorectorial appointment. According to the Universities Act, the AS is elected by the academic community which consists of instructors, researchers and students. The exclusive assembly of the instructors of the Trnava University was not an assembly of the academic community, therefore it could not elect the AS. It follows that in the case of Mr. Hajduk, it is not a matter of his recall from the post of a Rector, or revoking his letter of appointment, but rather a matter of an act which was null and void from the beginning, and no legal consequences can be derived from it." On the other hand, Doc. JUDr. Pavel Hollander, DrSc. (equivalent of LL.D.) explains in the October issue of the journal Forum vedy (Science Forum) that the Universities Act does not take into account newly established universities, hence neither the procedure for the election of a Rector described there, nor the title of an Associate or Full professor is compulsory in this case. A similar view is held by the former Minister of Education J. Pisut. Is Hajduk's Election Legitimate? Disputes about UT revolved around this issue, although (as follows from the exposition above, as well as from the present situation) the causes are (or may be) completely different. I Want To Be A Rector! On July 7, a letter to the Auditor General was sent by J. Kovac, A. Matejka and K. Kabat containing a complaint about the violation of the law by the former Minister of Education, Mr. Pisut. Besides allegations about the violation of the Universities Act, the authors alerted the Auditor to the fact that Dr. Hajduk has no experience in the workings of the universities, much less with running it. They stated that after his appointment, the hitherto officially recognized Steering Committee was dissolved and replaced by a completely different set of people who, by and large, lack required pedagogical experience. Allegedly, this intervention by Minister Pisut practically destroyed the newly founded UT, and everything indicates that he "concealed" in it the previously planned but then disapproved Academia Istropolitana (as evidence, they offer e.g., that out of 26 members of the new UT Steering Committe, 13 are on the list of the guarantors of this Academy; further, that two new study programs were opened at UT - the same as at the Istropolitana - Social Sciences, Political Sciences, Humanities and History, and that the staffing is consistent with this intention). They suggested, as a solution, to recall Dr. Hajduk, to reactivate the original Steering Committe and appoint Prof. Kovac as the Rector until July 1, 1993, when a democratic election of the rector would take place according to the Act. Trnava Responds All instructors with whom we could talk think that the present Minister of Education is above all upset by the democratic team which was formed after Hajduk's appointment at the UT. The present personnel was formed on the basis of a contest, and only professional and moral aspects were taken into account, rather than political affiliation, as Dr. Kovac alleges. They stated that although he initiated the founding of UT, he was mainly motivated by his ambition to become a Rector. He had made similar attempts in the past. They also point out that for three years, he had been a local chairman of the Communist Party of Slovakia and a member of a screening committee. They add that in the letter to the Auditor General, Dr. Kovac is nominating himself. They also maintain that Hajduk's Steering Committe has been formed by a decision of the National Council of Slovakia, and as such it is the only valid one, in contrast with the self-appointed Kovac's Committee. The new programs (History, Social Sciencese, Political Sciences, Humanities and Preventive Medicine) were approved by the Accreditation Committee, albeit only as a three-year program leading to a Bachelor's Degree (as opposed to the originally planned Master's programs on which the prospective students counted). Master's programs are to be decided upon later. The students learned about this change 14 days prior to the entrance exams, with a provision that if their program was canceled, they could select a different one. Further, the present management of UT complains about the illegality of the measures by the Ministry of Education concerning the replacement of door locks, the simultaneous registration on Oct. 12-13, and the blocking of the account in September which had the effect that the instructors work presently without pay. As far as the registration is concerned, it is completely under the jurisdiction of the school, and no one else has the right to conduct it. UT scheduled it for Oct. 12-15, and it actually took place as scheduled. Only three students came by mistake to the illegal registration, organized by the Ministry of education, and later they registered in a regular way at UT. As far as Hajduk's Associate Professorship is concerned, UT refers to Mr. Hollander's opinion and adds that Dr. Hajduk became an Associate Professor already at Charles University in Prague. To respond to the question whether they are a denominational school or not, UT states that it is a Catholic University. (On March 23, however, it was approved in the Slovak National Council as a State University.) There is a major problem: a small number of internal instructors (at present, just 5 for the whole University). UT explains that this year, only Level 1 is in operation, so that a larger number of internal instructors would not be fully employed. There are also complaints that the instructors are insufficiently experienced, but this is denied by UT by pointing out to the instructors' titles and professional activities. Further, UT claims that no one is really disturbed by the professional aspects; at issue are political opinions. The last serious problem is the readiness of the University for the academic year. Above all, this means securing the space an laboratories, which UT lacks. UT explains it mainly by the blockage of the account. However, this took place only on September 28, that is, sixteen days before the lectures started. Minister Requests Information The situation is crowned by a letter by Minister Kucera to the Provost of UT from Sept. 18; he calls attention to the fact that he has no information about UT's preparations for the new academic year (important dates, locations of lectures, list of instructors and school employees, structure of the school and the faculties, curricula and the statute of the school, needed for registration). In conclusion, we add: - one of the initiators of the complaint of July 7 became immediately an employee of the Ministry of the Auditor General, hence the recipient of that complaint - Minister Slobodnik had the door lock replaced only on one of the two entrances to the Rector's secretarial office. (This lock, later returned by the Minister, was put up for an auction organized by UT.) - the University has been alive for the whole semester only from donations by patrons. - no one brought this matter to the court, as Dr. Hajduk requested. Chronological Account March 25 Slovak National Council approves the establishment of UT May 12 CSFR President Vaclav Havel appoints Dr. Hajduk to the post of the Rector of UT June 1 Minister Pisut appoints Steering Committee of UT June 6 Parliamentary elections July 8 complaint by Messrs. Kovac, Matejka and Kabat to the Auditor General July, August: Correspondence on the election of Dr. Hajduk Sept. 1 elections to AS Sept. 8 Dr. Hajduk hands the Rectorial agenda over to the Vice-Rector Regend Sept. 9 Minister of Culture Slobodnik replaces the door lock at the Rector's Office Sept. 16 M. Kucera becomes Minister of Education Sept. 8-19 Entrance exams Sept. 18 Minister Kucera requests information about UT Sept. 25 Min. Kucera blocks UT account at the Vseobecna uverova banka (General Credit Bank) Oct. 14 Lectures start at UT Oct. 12-13 Registration of students at UT Oct. 12-15 Illegal registration staged by the Ministry Oct. 26 New elections into AS Nov. 3 Slovak Government approves Min. Kucera's proposal to dissolve UT (Nat. Council was to express its opinion on Nov. 11) Nov. 4 UT sues Ministry of Education and the General Credit Bank for the blockage of the account Nov. 5 Representatives of UT students deliver their declaration to the deputies of the National Council of the Slovak Republic in Bratislava Nov. 8 Inauguration Ceremonies at UT Nov. 12 Constitutional Committee of the National Council of Slovakia recommends to withdraw a bill to dissolve UT Nov. 17 National Council of Slovakia withdraws the bill to dissolve UT from its agenda translation: Franya Franek (franya@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca) and Slavek Kovarik (KOVARIK@MCMASTER.BITNET) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This news may be published only with "CAROLINA" designation. The subscription is free. Comments and remarks are appreciated. To subscribe to CAROLINA you have to send the e-mail message on the address LISTSERV@CSEARN.BITNET. 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