Russian university students face possible EU restrictions

Several hundred Russians studying technical subjects at Czech universities are facing having to stop their studies or being forced to switch degrees. Czech authorities say this is in order to comply with EU-wide sanctions against Russia, reports Deutsche Welle.

In an official memo to all universities, Deputy Education Minister Radka Wildová said EU sanctions forbid providing technical assistance to people or organisations from Russia. As such, providing higher education or supporting applied research could count as rendering technical assistance, she said.

Czech universities, however, are largely autonomous in their decision-making, meaning Czech authorities can merely recommend Russian students be excluded from certain courses or subject areas. Wildová nevertheless warned that universities “risk losing international credibility” if they do not comply with EU sanctions, according to Czech news platform Aktualne.cz.
Full report on the Deutsche Welle site