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CZECH REPUBLIC |
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CZECH REPUBLIC |
RELATION WITH THE PROFESSION
As mentioned previously, the current relationship between public administration education and practice is relatively positive. In contrast to the initial years of the transition process, universities and their specialists are increasingly involved in research, training and reform activities on all levels of government. There are at least some positive indications of the relationship between the government and the profession:
- several recognised academics were nominated to high level government positions (vice-ministers Streckova, Hlavacek, Wolf);
- some recognised academics serve as advisers to senior civil servants (Potucek, Hamernikova);
- all ministries and the central government provide yearly research grants (funding distributed in this manner is an important revenue for most universities and serves as important tool for developing research and international cooperation).
In addition, universities play an important role in preparing public administration reform strategies in the Czech Republic. The social-democratic government heavily relies on academics in this field, and the majority of important persons participating in reform efforts have an academic background. In addition, several senior civil servants, including ministers and vice-ministers, cooperate with universities by delivering lectures and participating in conferences and seminaries. This type of cooperation, however, varies according to the locality and cannot be described in a universal matter. Furthermore, cooperation very much depends on interpersonal relationships.
1. The Role of Universities in the Education and Training of Public Servants
The following are the key features of the current situation with regards to the role of universities in the education and training of civil servants:
- the role of universities in the pre-entry preparation of public servants is fully recognised by the government and is well defined in the draft government decree on education and training in public administration;
- universities are highly involved in training existing public servants, and generally this type of training is recognised by the government;
- many, if not most public administration graduates do not enter public administration, but rather find jobs in the private sector;
- public servants without appropriate qualifications generally are not replaced but are instead sent to part-time programmes (predominantly bachelor’s courses of study);
- there is no central data on the proportion of graduates entering the public service.
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