President Pavel calls for better access to universities for students from low-income families

Czech President Petr Pavel says access to higher education must improve for students from low-income families. Speaking at the appointment of new professors at Prague’s Carolinum on Tuesday, he said many young people lack motivation to pursue university studies, especially if they grew up in environments where higher education was not seen as an advantage.

Pavel pointed to long-standing structural problems, including chronic underfunding of universities and the low share of university graduates compared with other European Union countries. According to Eurostat, 33.5 percent of Czechs aged 25 to 34 held a university degree in 2024, well below the EU average of 44 percent.