INDIVIDUAL AREAS OF EDUCATION
In the period between December 1st, 1999 and December 31st, 2000, we received
630 applications. We acted in slightly more in 2001, 633 cases, including
354 applications from participants in public education, 221 in higher
education, 19 in vocational training. 39 applications were classified
in the "Other" category, including cases related to language schools and
courses. When comparing the figures from those two years, we see that
the number of applications related to public education decreased somewhat,
while more complaints were received from the area of higher education.
The increased awareness of the home page and e-mail address of our Office
is indicated by the fact while only 5 per cent of all complaints were
received by e-mail in 2000, this figure was over 30 per cent in 2001.
Electronic mail systems are typically used by the young people, this is
also connected with the change that while in 2000 20 per cent of complaints
was put forward by pupils and students, this ratio grew to 35 last year.
The number of initiatives and recommendations identified by the Commissioner
for Educational Rights increased substantially. In 2000, 35 and in 2001
51 initiatives and recommendations were made. These measures have been
accepted by the stakeholders, with one exception. Three proposals for
legislative drafting were identified in both years, the Minister of Education
accepted all of them. (See the statistical figures of our cases in the
appendix to this Account.)
The number of applications related to vocational training was a long way
below those from the other two areas of education. The reason for that
is that these cases were classified as being related to vocational training
only if they were solely related to this area of education since the majority
of the provisions set forth in the Act on Public Education and its implementing
regulations are also applicable for vocational training institutions.
Two key elements in the activities of our Office in the Year 2001 comprised
the protection of the rights of participants in public education and in
higher education.
Our role in those two areas of education displayed different features.
Our activities pursued in order to enforce higher educational rights are
equivalent to the classic role of an ombudsman. These cases have primarily
focused on the law applications and case-by-case decisions of universities
and colleges. The autonomy of higher educational institutions entails
the power to regulate several proceedings within their own system of norms.
Their decisions and measures are characterised by the written form of
communication, therefore the documents offered a sufficient basis for
formulating our position in the majority of our investigations. The investigation
of cases related to public education concentrated more on the conciliatory
nature of our proceedings than in higher education. The decisions and
particularly the measures of public educational institutions are less
characterised by the written form of communication, their internal norms
are often combinations of pedagogical and legal components, and are not
in line with regulations of a higher level. Therefore conciliation, in
addition to remedying the particular infringement of rights, aimed at
facilitating the co-operation between each educational participant, both
in the specific case and in the future.
Both areas of education have several characteristic features contributing
to the difference of the role our Office played. The number of educational
participants and the nature of their contacts vary. The subjects of public
educational legal relationships are the pupils, the parents, the teachers,
the heads of institutions, the operators and ultimately the state. Public
education participants also have one-on-one relationships, which are characterised
by mutual interdependence, and all this has substantial influence over
the enforcement of rights. These interdependencies result not only from
educational but also from labour law legal relationships. The impact of
a closed community may not be neglected either, since educational participants
in this community are inherently dependent on each other as a result of
mandatory schooling. It is also an important point to consider that one
group of public education participants is more vulnerable than the others.
Children, the pupils, are less able to enforce their rights and more exposed
to infringements of rights. Children's rights may only be enforced fully
if adults play an active part in the process. On the contrary, higher
education participants are capable adults, whose behaviour and enforcement
of rights are typically not influenced by interdependencies. The system
of relationships can be described as simpler in higher education. Students
maintain a relationship with the institutions, and the institutions with
the state in a legal relationship based on higher educational legislation.
The nature of public and higher educational rights protected by our Office
also varies. In public education, we also have to proceed in order to
protect the fundamental rights of each educational participant provided
for in the Constitution and confirmed in the Act on Public Education since
by their nature they become vulnerable in a system of mutual interdependencies.
Conversely, applications from higher education have almost always been
limited to rights directly related to this area of education. Real or
presumed infringements of rights related directly to education primarily
occur at the beginning (related to admissions) and at the end (obtaining
a degree) of studies in higher education; applications submitted during
the course of studies are mainly related to payment obligations. In public
education, however, the parties concerned contact us with their questions
and complaints equally at the beginning, during and at the end of their
studies.
The following is an account of the applications received by our Office
by describing the typical case types according to the three main areas
of education public education, vocational training, and higher education.
PUBLIC
EDUCATION
VOCATIONAL
TRAINING
HIGHER
EDUCATION
|
previous 
