SLOVENIA: Minister resigns a year into reforms

Slovenia's Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, Gregor Golobi, has announced his resignation only a year after the adoption of his higher education reforms and a new law on financing education.

It is the second blow in a month to the government's higher education plans, following a defeat in a referendum on a proposed bill designed to speed up employment of university graduates and limit the exploitation of the student workforce.

The 'mini-job reform' law was strongly criticised by the National Student Union (SOS) and rejected by 80% of voters in the referendum.

One of Golobi's key achievements was the introduction of the new law on financing universities, by which institutions are allocated funds on the basis of their high quality, development and efficiency, rather than the number of students admitted.

Also, under the National Reform Programme of Higher Education 2010-20, he strengthened links between universities and enterprises.

The mini-job reform was proposed by parliament on the initiative of Ivan Svetlik, the Minister of Labour, Family and Social Affairs in January 2010.

It was intended to limit the amount of short-term employment of students and retired people, imposing a cap at a maximum of 672 hours per year, or 14 hours per week. It restricted annual payment to a maximum of EUR6,000 (US$8,800).

Currently students are allowed to work unlimited hours and earn up to EUR600 per month without paying taxes.

Svetlik told the press agency STA (Slovenska Tiskovna Agencija) why he believed the changes were necessary: "The number of jobless academics has increased by 240% in the past decade. Student work is becoming [a] common form of employment, since it has increased by 400% in [the] past nine years.

"Companies prefer to employ students, since it is cheaper for them. This is why these young academics have difficulties finding the first job," he said. "With the new proposal 90,000 employment places would be created for those studying at the moment."

Katja Soba, former president of SOS, said the legislation was incomplete and damaging. "It is not a solution for a current situation for the labour market," she said.

Since many students must work in order to cover their expenses, SOS started an aggressive campaign to prevent adoption of the law. After massive violent protests in May 2010, they gathered the 40,000 signatures needed to force a referendum, which was held on 10 April.

"I believe that politicians wanted to perform an experiment with unclear consequences," Marko Mesko, a maths student, told University World News. "Students that live financially independently from their parents would certainly struggle to earn enough for living and studying."

Andrej Cus, president of the youth wing of the right-wing Slovenian Democratic Party, said: "We support the changes and are convinced that the reform on student work is needed, but the proposed law would worsen the situation. It interferes with the rights of students to work."

Some students say an improvement to employment law is definitely needed, because the current system encourages mass exploitation of the student workforce.

Zoran Mijatovic from Ljubljana, who is studying for a masters in journalism, said: "A majority of students neglect their academic requirements at the expense of earning money for luxury. Students will now try even harder to extend their student status in order to work."

But the majority of students fear losing a secure way of funding their living expenses. This concern has not been assuaged by a promise to increase the number of scholarships.

Labour minister Svetlik said the 'No' vote was a sign that people were not aware of the importance of the reform: "We will have to invest heavily in education and the reform. It is needed, even if it presently [does] not seem the best solution," he said.

Golobi's exit, however, may be only a tactical retreat. As president of the centre-left Zares party, he has called for early parliamentary elections and may be positioning himself to exploit public dissatisfaction with employment, health and pension reforms. Opponents of the reforms have demanded the resignation of the Prime Minister Borut Pahor.