Czechia cuts university budget: thousands of applicants will find no place

The Czech government has earmarked 35.9 billion crowns for public universities in next year's draft budget — almost 293 million crowns less than this year. Because of the funding shortfall, universities will be able to admit no more than 59,000 new first-year students, said Milan Pospíšil, head of the Czech Rectors Conference and rector of the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague.

"Everything suggests that we won't have enough money for the largest graduating class in recent years. Either the government adds funding, or we'll have to limit the number of students admitted so that the quality of teaching doesn't suffer," he stressed.

More applicants, fewer places

According to the Ministry of Education, 63,500 freshmen enrolled in bachelor's and long master's programmes at public universities in 2025 — more than universities will be able to admit in the upcoming intake. The total number of students at public universities, including doctoral students, grew by 13,000 over the year to reach 297,700 people.

It isn't yet clear exactly how many applicants will start studying in the coming academic year, but going by demographic trends, the number should be roughly the same as a year ago. In 2027, however, competition for university places could rise further: next spring roughly four thousand more students will graduate from secondary school than this year. "Unfortunately, there is a real risk that some graduates who would otherwise have continued their studies will be forced to enter the labour market instead," warned Petr Kopecký, rector of the University of Ostrava.

Priorities in words, savings in practice

Education Minister Robert Plaga (for ANO) has also repeatedly spoken of the need to boost university funding. He agreed with rectors to push for three billion crowns more for 2027 than this year, but found no support from Finance Minister Alena Schillerová (ANO).

"It would make sense for the contribution to higher education to grow by three billion crowns every year, but the finance ministry has given us only one billion. We've also been promised one billion extra for 2028 and for 2029, so every year we'll be short by two billion crowns," Pospíšil noted.

Plaga, however, considers the allocated sum sufficient: according to him, the increased contribution covers the demographic rise caused by a larger generation of applicants. Even so, both the Rectors Conference and the Council of Higher Education Institutions oppose the size of the budget, accusing the government of hypocrisy — of calling education a priority only in words.

"We consider it unacceptable for the state to declare education, science, research and innovation a precondition for the competitiveness and long-term economic growth of the Czech Republic, without backing these priorities with a corresponding budget policy," the Council of Higher Education Institutions said in its resolution.

Read also: Free Czech language courses for foreigners: where to study

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz