Zagreb - Professors holding permanent academic posts will be able to work until the age of 67 at the expense of the state budget, to help retain top experts in the higher education system, Science and Education Minister Radovan Fuchs said in Parliament on Thursday as he presented amendments to the relevant legislation.
The minister informed the Sabor that the measure would not automatically extend employment. It would apply only at an employee's request, where the higher education institution needs their continued engagement and its Senate or Faculty Council approves it.
Currently, full professors holding permanent tenures may teach until the end of the calendar year in which they turn 70, but after 65 their salaries are paid from non-earmarked funds of their public higher education institution.
Under the draft amendments, the state budget would cover their salaries until they turn 67.
The amendments also introduce project-based employment for assistants as an additional option to the existing employment model.
Assistants employed on university or research institute projects could sign more than three consecutive fixed-term contracts, with each project treated as a new employment. The total period, including the initial contract, could not exceed 10 years.
Fuchs said the measure would not leave young researchers stuck in short-term employment for a decade, noting that they would remain eligible to apply for permanent positions advertised by universities, faculties and research institutes.
Opposition questions fast-tracking of university law changes
Croatia's parliamentary opposition said on Thursday it did not object to extending professors' employment at state expense until age 67, but questioned whether the changes were being fast-tracked to benefit certain individuals.
It also said the bill did little to encourage universities to improve the quality of their programmes.
We Can! MP Damir Bakić called for a strategy to attract foreign students, including full tuition subsidies, saying their arrival would benefit both universities and the wider education system.
Centre MP Marijana Puljak said permanent academic status was not proof of recent scientific excellence and that any extension should be based on performance and the institution's needs.
She said universities should also assess whether retaining older professors would prevent younger academics from securing jobs or delay their career progression.
SDSS MP Milorad Pupovac said the bill would significantly improve opportunities for high-quality higher education and research, but said more attention should be paid to part-time students and the election of members to faculty and workers' councils.