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February 7th, 2007 issue

The words “tuition fee” irritate leftist Czechs in the same way that a red flag sets off a Spanish bull, Petr Kamberský writes in Hospodářské noviny Jan. 31.

There’s no need to be so surprised; the idea that the level of your education is dependent on the assets of your parents doesn’t match with our understanding of human rights. It is not my fault that my father decided to tend goats and ignore making money. If one sees the tuition fee as a barrier that prevents the poor from studying, he is a true hypocrite, and resisting the introduction of fees is not right. Petr Matějů, chief advisor to the Minister of Education, wants a system whereby everyone can study and pay later, when they have a job.

There are many strong arguments for introducing the fee. It is better to spend on our kids’ education than on slot machines. People who pay are entitled to good treatment. And, students will now think twice before enrolling in the eighth year of their studies.

To sum it up, I study for money provided by someone else and I will achieve a higher qualification than my provider. The state is hopeless in finding more financial sources for the development of the universities. At this point, the tuition fee seems to be the best solution of all to bring more money to our university system. But maybe the solution is so obvious: It will be the same as with pension reform or ending wasteful social services — we will have to repeat for a few more years that the solution is so simple and obvious before our politicians take any action, Kamberský writes.

There are few things plaguing our world that we can get rid of as completely as cigarette smoke. It’s great that this applies to the Czech Republic, too, Teodor Marjanovič writes in Mladá fronta Dnes Jan. 31.

In pubs people are still allowed to smoke like chimneys, so a nonsmoker who goes to a pub for a beer comes back home stinking to high heaven. But things are moving in the right direction. The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a tenant who complained that a neighbor was smoking in front of his flat.

France, with a strict new law, could be another inspiration. Smoking rooms are banned from public buildings and, starting next year, the irritating Gitanes and Gauloises smoke will disappear from bars and restaurants.

To be sure, I can hear the smokers raging. “How can the newspaper say something so intolerant?” they‘ll protest. Smoking is a part of European cafe culture. “And, speaking of France,” they will add, “what would Montmartre in Toulouse-Lautrec’s paintings be like without all the cafes with their smoky atmosphere?”

But these are feeble arguments — similar to claiming that dog excrement has always been a part of pavements. And maybe the doggies are the only friends of their owners so these people should not be asked to keep their dogs from defecating where they want.

Damn, I don’t care. Why should I suffer just because someone has to smoke or have a dog? This world is full of inconsiderate behavior. It is great that at least one example gets a walloping, Marjanovič writes.

Compiled by Hela Balínová and Naďa Černá

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