Cabinet to discuss period for stripping cheaters of academic titles

The Czech government is set to discuss the issue of stripping people of fraudulently acquired academic titles in connection with an amendment to the law on universities, Czech Television reported. At present people found to have cheated in getting a title can only lose it within a three-year period.

ANO’s minister of education, Robert Plaga, says he could imagine that time limit being extended to five or six years. Kateřina Valachová of junior government party the Social Democrats, who is a former education minister, told Czech TV she could imagine increased sanctions for more serious cases of academic fraud.

The country’s largest university, Charles University in Prague, has rescinded two academic titles in the last four years. It uses anti-plagiarism programmes, which catch cheaters before they get to graduate, rector Tomáš Zima said.