Tertiary education in the Czech Republic has a been a tradition for more than 600 years. In 1348, Charles University in Prague was founded as one of the oldest universities in Europe. Having an excellent reputation for centuries, the sector has been facing a significant drop in international university rankings. In general, Czech public universities have been losing their position compared to their competitors.Why? Is something rotting in the Czech educational system?
Czech Higher Education
In the Czech Republic, public universities dominate tertiary education. Private universities and colleges account for only about 10 percent of university students. Enrollment at both public and private universities has been falling due to demographic reasons over the last few years. However, private universities have been more affected by this slump. Since 2010, private universities have lost almost 40 percent of their students, whereas public universities have lost only 14 percent. It should be noted that only public universities receive financial support from the government based mainly on the number of enrolled students, whereas private universities are fully dependent on tuition and other private finances. As such, both types of institutions have large financial incentives to have as many students as possible.
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