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Czech leader bemoans too many universities

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Czech President Vaclav Klaus talk before their meeting in Prague, March 2, 2006. Putin is on a two-day state visit to Czech Republic. (UPI Photo/Anatoli Zhdanov).
Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Czech President Vaclav Klaus talk before their meeting in Prague, March 2, 2006. Putin is on a two-day state visit to Czech Republic. (UPI Photo/Anatoli Zhdanov). | License Photo

PRAGUE, Czech Republic, March 17 (UPI) -- The Czech Republic has too many universities for its population, President Vaclav Klaus told an education summit in Prague.

Klaus, himself a professor, told the forum Monday 73 universities in the country were too many for its population of 10 million people, the CTK news agency reported Tuesday.

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Of the schools, two are state-run, 26 are public and 45 are private, the report said.

"That every Czech must be a university graduate is simply a tragic mistake," Klaus said. "This extreme extending of university education is the second biggest attack on the quality of university education after the communist purges after 1948."

Among government concerns the quality of education is being diluted is the growing number of professors who work at more than one school. A government bill has been introduced to limit the so-called flying professors to one institution, the report said.

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