12.12.2024
TOP 09 would like to push through a separate ministry for science and research into the SPOLU coalition agreement. Minister Marek Ženíšek, who currently manages this area, told the FORUM 24 daily. The first deputy chairman of the People’s Party, Pavel Bělobrádek, also agrees with the establishment of a separate ministry. Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) sees advantages in such a solution, but he says he is not a supporter of creating new offices. So if a new ministry were to be created, another one should be abolished.
“Yes, we want a ministry for science, research and universities and then the euro,” said Minister Ženíšek. “The idea that the Minister of Education would solve the issue of cleaners, admissions procedures, problems in secondary education, youth as such and, in addition, universities in one week is untenable in my opinion. The countries around us are aware of this and are dividing the departments,” he explained.
“We currently have 16 budget chapters that I or the government office negotiates. The Academy of Sciences, GACR, TACR, the Czech Ministry of Education and Science, and the Ministry of Education have their own chapter for research, and other departments have their own research organizations. Overall, it is unsustainable,” he added.
He also pointed out the criticisms from independent experts, the European Commission, and other institutions that the science and research system is fragmented. “Many countries have therefore chosen a model where education focuses mainly on youth and primary or secondary education, while science, research, and universities fall under a separate department. This approach makes sense. The Poles and other neighboring countries have it that way. Instead, we created a Council of Government, then this issue was trying to be resolved by law, but there is no clear element that could effectively manage it,” he said.
The opposition is already calling the post of Minister of Science, Research, and Innovation unnecessary. He also expresses the same opinion about the Minister for European Affairs.
“The opposition may claim that this is an unnecessary additional ministry, but foreign experience shows that it can work. And I say this regardless of whether I will be here or not. I will easily return to foreign policy, but the system itself calls for change. And if you were to conduct a survey among university rectors, you would not find a single one who would say that this is not a good idea,” thinks Ženíšek. He will therefore try to have a separate ministry included in the coalition agreement. TOP 09 is waiting for a program conference where it will deal with this. However, the minister has already spoken about it with Prime Minister Petr Fiala, who apparently liked the idea.
Fiala reminded the daily FORUM 24 that the idea of dividing the Ministry of Education into two so that universities and research would be managed separately has been around for many years and he himself was a supporter of it. “It is a model that many other states have. It would undoubtedly have its advantages. However, a number of ideas for new ministries have been emerging recently, such as a ministry of sports. And I am definitely not a fan of creating additional new offices. So if we were to proceed with the creation of a ministry for higher education, it would have to be part of a broader reform of the structure of central offices, which would lead to greater efficiency. If we wanted to establish a new ministry, we would have to abolish another one,” he said.
TOP 09 chairwoman Markéta Pekarová Adamová wrote to the FORUM 24 daily that a number of developed countries have a full-fledged ministry for science, research and higher education. “If we want to keep up with them and succeed in fierce competition, we need to devote more attention to the area. The post of minister for science is currently the first necessary step, but it should not remain there,” she said.
People’s Party leader Marek Výborný refused to comment on the closed-door discussion of the SPOLU program. “We generally support science and research, historically headed by Pavel Bělobrádek,” he recalled.
Debates about establishing an independent Ministry of Science and Research have been ongoing for a long time. In 2015, the government of Bohuslav Sobotka (ČSSD) talked about it. According to the then Deputy Prime Minister for Science and Research, Pavel Bělobrádek (KDU-ČSL), the office was supposed to deal with the area of research and its direction in the future. At that time, this fell under the Ministry of Education. The issue was to establish either an entire new ministry or just a separate office.
Bělobrádek now agrees with the TOP 09 proposal, according to him, only because he himself proposed it earlier. "I am convinced that there would be no increase in financial costs," he told the FORUM 24 daily. On the contrary, he believes that savings would be made because other ministries and institutions would be delimited and some things would be unified. If a separate ministry were not created, he would be in favor of establishing a central authority. "We could proceed with reformatting the government, I am convinced that even sport, if not directly its own ministry, would deserve to be significantly strengthened at the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports," he thinks.
The field of science and research has been changing hands between different members of the government in recent decades. The position of Minister for Science and Research first appeared in the government of Vladimír Špidla, when it was held from 2002 to 2004 by the leader of the Freedom Union, Petr Mareš, who was also the Deputy Prime Minister. From January 2014 to December 2017, the Deputy Prime Minister for Science, Research and Innovation, Pavel Bělobrádek, served in the Sobotka government.
With the accession of Petr Fiala to the government in 2021, Helena Langšádlová (TOP 09) was appointed Minister for Science, Research and Innovation, but she resigned in April of this year. Her successor was supposed to be economist Pavel Tuleja, who, however, withdrew from the nomination due to criticism for having published articles in so-called predatory journals in the past. Marek Ženíšek then became the new minister.
