This morning (September 3) the Dean of Faculty called me to say that he has agreed to a suggestion from the leadership of Charles University and will be offering successful refugee applicants the chance to study for free at the 2nd Faculty of Medicine. In practice, this means that any applicant who is granted political asylum, and who applies at our study department by September 15, can sit the entrance exams for international students on September 16. If they pass the entrance exams and are among the best candidates, then they can begin their studies here and we will waive the tuition fees. For the time being, this offer is valid for a year, but there may be a possibility of waiving tuition fees for future years if the conditions under which political exile was granted continue.
I can hardly think of anything recently that has given me such great pleasure as this gesture from Charles University. It’s true that it is just a gesture, and the probability that a suitable candidate will appear within such a short deadline is low (practically speaking, the offer will be more meaningful in a year's time), however, it comes at a time when some major media outlets are portraying the typical refugee as an Islamist with a Kalashnikov strapped to his back. This anti-immigrant stance is also being adopted by some politicians. For example, I’m even more chilled by the sight of our President spreading xenophobic panic than I was by the sight of him staggering around in front of our crown jewels.
It's good to see that at a time when so many other people's speeches are full of fear and hatred, Charles University has taken this perhaps unpopular step. It shows that we’re also capable of seeing refugees as people like ourselves. There's no question that there are highly educated people among them, and possibly also people whose journey towards education has been interrupted.
I hope that at least some asylum-seekers will be able to study with us, if not this year then next. And I hope that they will warmly welcomed, as suits a proper European university, so that they can forget the horrors that so many of them have gone through.
Ondřej Hrušák, Coordinator of international student admissions
