www.nfa.pl/

:: Europejska Karta Naukowca - Głos NFA do Komisji Europejskiej
Artykuł dodany przez: nfa (2006-01-01 06:14:50)


Our organization and endorsement of the Chapter and Code:
Our organization, Independent Academic Forum, groups Polish researchers working in Poland and abroad. It was the first academic body in Poland to dissipate information about the Charter and Code (C&C) on its internet site (www.nfa.pl) and which strongly recommended implementation of C&C guidelines in the country (March 19, 2005; http://www.nfa.pl/articles.php?id=73). We emphasized that, in accordance with C&C, the following principles of good practice should be urgently implemented to improve the academic environment
at Polish research institutions, universities, and colleges: wide access to research results for internal and external scrutiny;introduction of transparent evaluation/appraisal systems for assessing professional performance of researchers; establishment of open and fair, transparent and non-discriminatory recruitment procedures; transparency in allocation of research funds; responsibility of academic employers for providing employees with opportunities for professional development; stimulating mobility and recognizing it as a valuable asset when employing, evaluating, or awarding researchers; an option for an appeal in all matters
pertaining to employment and allocation of research funds; availability of an impartial ombudsman, capable of providing assistance in resolving work-related conflicts.

Major obstacles in implementation of the Chapter and Code in Poland:
In our opinion Polish universities offer inadequate opportunities for professional development, especially for junior faculty (and PhD students), and suffer from bad management. Not much has changed in this respect since the communist times, with universities having been left practically unchanged with regard to their structure and
ways of functioning and academic career opportunities limited by lack of impartial recruitment, evaluation, and funding standards at the institutional level. An opportunity for change appeared when Polish Parliament began work on a new Higher Education Bill, drafted by rectors of Polish universities. We appealed to Members of
Parliament and academic officials to include at least the most essential principles of C&C in the new legislature. Unfortunately, our appeals were largely ignored: a representative of the ministry of research informed us that the C&C is only a recommendation, hence
Poland is not legally obliged to implement it or respect its
provisions. The same opinion was expressed during parliamentary debates. The new law, adopted on 27 July 2005, dropped even the requirement that new university teachers be selected in transparent and competitive recruitment procedures (the requirement which has
already been present in the previous Higher Education Act of 12 September 1990). This is particularly disappointing since the major authors of the bill were current and former members of the Polish Rectors Conference. To the best of our knowledge, the Conference has never seriously considered the option of implementing the C&C. Therefore, we consider representatives of the 'old guard' whose academic careers advanced mostly in communist Poland, to be the most significant obstacle in implementing the Charter and Code in Poland (see also: C. Wójcik 2004 Eastern Europe: progress stifled by the old guard NATURE 427: 196.)





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