Czech universities are losing money from foreign students forced to study at home
As Radio Prague notes, due to restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the dangerous virus, Czech universities cannot host foreign guests at their conferences and are themselves forced to cancel trips by researchers abroad.
"Funding for the education system has been limping along for the last 10 years. If we count all the funds available to domestic higher education institutions, we are at 89% of the 2008 budget. I am talking specifically about the education process. Research funding is growing, but education funding is not," comments the head of the Czech Rectors' Conference and rector of the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Petr Sklenička.
"Now we are facing a new blow. Due to the coronavirus crisis, higher education institutions are losing income that normally comes from student dormitories and canteens, as well as renting out vacant premises. Income from training foreign students on a commercial basis has decreased.
Many universities have lost revenue from research commissioned by private companies. Such expenses, if research can be postponed, companies cut first. As of today, according to preliminary calculations, our losses have already exceeded 1 billion crowns (about 37.5 million euros)," noted Petr Sklenička.
Student exchanges under the Erasmus+ program have also declined. The reduction in the total number of student "arrivals and departures" to Europe and other continents has reached 25% at most universities as of today. Many potential Erasmus+ participants are postponing their trips to the second half of the academic year, hoping the coronavirus situation will improve.
In many cases, not only finances but also the quality of education suffers, as some specializations require the physical presence of foreign students in the host country. And the quality indicator of university education affects the flow of subsidies from the Ministry of Education.
At Charles University in Prague, foreigners make up about 20% of the total number of students. This is data from last year. This time, even more foreigners were admitted to the first year, but the final tally will only be known by November. This is the capital's Charles University, which is considered the most popular among foreigners. The situation at other universities differs.
The management of Mendel University in Brno, for example, already knows that losses are inevitable. In 2020, 180 fewer foreigners enrolled at this university. Last year, there were 943. According to university spokesman Filip Váňa, losses due to a shortage of "commercial" students will amount to millions of crowns.
Prague's Czech Technical University earned almost 60 million crowns (2.3 million euros) from teaching foreign students last year. In the new year, this institution has already lost 100 foreign students. This means a loss of 9-10 million crowns.
Conversely, the Prague University of Economics and Business cannot complain about a reduction in the total number of foreign students admitted due to the coronavirus epidemic. Based on documents received, there are currently no fewer than a year ago. However, autumn and winter may bring serious adjustments.
If universities teach students online, which is quite likely, and Prague already knows this for sure, as the epidemiological situation is far from rosy, then self-paying foreign students may change their plans.
"Rectors fear the emergence of a situation with a possible decrease in the number of foreign students at our universities more than anything else. A shortage of foreigners in the first year could negatively affect the position of small and especially private higher education institutions in the Czech Republic. But all Czech universities have felt the downward trend. Right now, we don't know if all foreign students, even though they are enrolled, will be able to enter our country due to the epidemic.
To be safe, we spent the whole summer preparing for the possibility of conducting online lectures for specific students from specific countries that may be affected by epidemic restrictions. Czech students would sit in classrooms, if possible, while lectures would be simultaneously broadcast via online platforms.
But I want to emphasize that conducting student education online is much more difficult for universities than the classic full-time, contact system. The contact method of teaching is always simpler and more effective," concludes the head of the Czech Rectors' Conference and rector of the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Petr Sklenička.