According to Pravda daily, the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAS) sent an open letter to Prime Minister Robert Fico in reaction to the published budget draft for 2015. The reasons are radical cuts which may mean, according to the letter, a real threat for science in the Slovak Republic.
According to the draft, there is a 16.9 % reduction in the amount allocated to the Academy compared to the year 2014. This means a discrepancy with ideas the government proclaims, namely the constant support of science and education in Slovakia.
The scientists claim that “it is a matter of public interest for Slovakia as qualified scientific and excellent experts are worried about their professional existence every year in the period when a new budget is submitted.“
According to the National Reform Programme of the Slovak Republic in 2014, crucial for our republic are material research and nanotechnology, information and communication technologies, biomedicine and biotechnology, industrial technology, power engineering, agriculture and the environment.
The same document also states that “organizations of the Slovak Academy of Sciences will be transformed into a new form of independent legal entities -public research institutions. This will eliminate the barriers preventing more intensive cooperation with the private sector in R&D and enable to use private resources to finance their R&D activities.
By Albert Kulla
Oh Bobaaaaay! Why cut research? Pockets too full now and yet more is needed to stuff new pockets?
Hmmmmm – something doesn’t smell right.
As forecast, BnM and Co have stared into the black hole of public finances and realised that they can’t keep their populist promises without clawing the cash back from elsewhere. Hence the very real cuts to almost every budget, many of which are not even reported. Meanwhile the tax burden on every citizen and business continues to climb yet services and public spending continue to fall – except when it comes to staffing. The number of new none-jobs created since these clowns came to power both at national and local level is a disgrace.