PM plans to introduce tuition fees before next election

The Prime Minister, Mirek Topolánek, has said that he would like tuition fees to be introduced in the Czech Republic before the next parliamentary elections. In an interview with the financial daily Hospdářské noviny, Mr Topolánek added that he favoured the introduction of ‘postponed’ tuition fees, which students would only pay back after their degree, when their income reached a certain level. The Prime Minister said that he planned to introduce student loans, extend scholarship programmes and offer incentives to families which saved up to fund their child’s education. Mr Topolánek’s partners in the coalition, the Christian Democrats, are said to be for the overhaul in university funding. The Greens, who also form the governing coalition, have declared themselves to be against the proposals.