Higher Education Reform in the Czech Republic: A Personal Testimony Regarding the Impact of Foreign Advisers

The author, a Czech émigré scholar, reflects both on his return to his homeland, after the 1989 Velvet Revolution, as an advisor to the Czechoslovak Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports, and in general, on the question of the influence of foreign (Western) advisors in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe undergoing transition. His initial experience was that of a foreign advisor, given his background and the number of years of absence from his homeland. In addition to delivering lectures on the reform of education, he took part in the setting up of TEMPUS programmes and in preparing the 1992 OECD review of Czech and Slovak higher education. Then later, as a returned Czech academic more than as a foreign advisor, he contributed to the elaboration of the 1995-1996 review of the whole educational system of the Czech Republic. His general conclusion is that the work of foreign advisors can be valuable if the given advisors really understand the local environment and the language; however, there may be some time lag as to the adoption of their recommendations.