Four laws that will decide what universities and student life look like in the country are before parliament today. The academic community has already reacted - and in the dorms, the age limit for staying is now strict.

The package of legislation on higher education, science and student standard is on the agenda of the 116th plenary session of Parliament today. In the first reading, MPs are to debate the new draft Law on Higher Education, and the session also includes amendments to the Law on Student Standard, the draft Law on Quality Assurance in Higher Education and Science, and the draft Law on Scientific Research Activity.

The Ministry of Education and Science claims the texts were prepared after six public debates and consultations with universities and the expert public. According to the Ministry, the laws are meant to introduce meritocracy, measurable criteria, greater internationalisation and stronger quality control.

Among the proposed changes is the requirement that candidates for teaching and research titles have a greater number of academic papers, some of them published in journals from the „Web of Science” or „Scopus” databases. A reorganisation of the Quality Agency is also envisaged, which, besides accreditation, would also carry out the evaluation of universities and study programmes.

But that is exactly where the dispute lies. The proposed solutions had already triggered reactions in the academic public - especially over the criteria for appointment to titles, the autonomy of universities and the way the quality of higher-education institutions will be assessed. When the state decides how universities will grade themselves, the line between quality control and control over autonomy is thin.

The amendments to the Law on Student Standard, on the other hand, carry concrete changes for students. An upper age limit of 30 is introduced for accommodation in a state student dormitory. For more serious breaches of house rules - bringing in alcohol or drugs, violence, threats and damaging the inventory - a ban on accommodation in all student dormitories lasting one to five years is proposed. The question is whether the strict penalties will also mean better dormitories, or just stricter rules in the same old buildings.