Ministry of Science gathering ideas for removing red tape from universities

Ministry of Science seeks input from the academic community on rules which require scientific employees to do unnecessary paperwork. On Thursday the website of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education launched a simple form, through which anyone can submit their proposals for changes in legislation on higher education and science. The ministry will gather ideas concerning deregulation until 15 March. The comments are expected to help prepare a quick amendment to the law on science and higher education.

"We see the need for simplifying the law. We will introduce these changes so that they take effect from the next academic year" - said Minister of Science and Higher Education Jarosław Gowin at a meeting with journalists.

Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education Teresa Czerwińska noted that the ministry wants to focus on quick changes and not fundamental changes. Major changes will be included in a separate project - the new law on higher education.

"We hope that universities – which, after all, know best which bureaucratic obligations are the most problematic - will submit their proposals and comments" - explained the deputy minister. She stressed that these should be proposals for concrete solutions, not a wish list. "After reviewing these comments we want to formulate proposals for action - how to reduce the bureaucratic burden in a precise, surgical manner" - she added.

"Up to 30 percent of certain regulations, ordinances, rules, may be unnecessary from the university efficiency standpoint" - said Czerwińska.

Deputy Minister gave as an example of the information collected in the POL-on database. It is an integrated system of information on higher education, which supports the work of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, and the Central Statistical Office and the Central Commission for Academic Degrees and Titles. According to the Deputy Minister, not all the information universities are required to enter there is necessary. "All the elements of POL-one should be used, not only serve the statistical purposes" - she said. She noted that statistics are needed, but should not hinder the functioning of the system.

Deputy Minister of Science Prof. Aleksander Bobko, in turn, gave an example of unnecessary bureaucracy associated with the operation of the Polish Accreditation Committee. "We want to separate the formal evaluation, which can be carried out by clerks, from expert evaluation, which would be performed by the Polish Accreditation Committee" - he said. Jarosław Gowin added that the functioning of the Polish Accreditation Committee should be based on mentoring, for research units the Committee should be "a help, not a Cerberus".

PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland

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