Economist and dean of the Faculty of Economics of the University of Economics Miroslav Ševčík.
Prague – The dean of the Faculty of Economics of the University of Economics in Prague (VŠE) Miroslav Ševčík today asked Rector Petr Dvořák for more time to decide whether to resign. When asked by ČTK, he said that he had asked for “reasonable time to think it over”. According to him, some of the employees he wants to talk to about the situation are on spring break. The rector of the University of Economics called on Ševčík to resign on Monday, according to him, the dean has been damaging the good name and interests of the school for a long time. Ševčík subsequently told journalists that he would consider resigning and that he would announce his decision today. The situation has been dealt with since the morning by the management of VŠE, which was convened by the rector, and is also assessing Ševčík's request for an extension of the deadline for comments.
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“I asked for a reasonable time to think about it. Some of the employees are on spring vacation and I would like to discuss it with them,” Ševčík wrote to CTK in an SMS message. Spring break ends this weekend.
VŠE students, dissatisfied with Ševčík, have called for a demonstration in front of the school's headquarters on Winston Churchill Square on Wednesday from 12:30 p.m., where they want to call on the dean to resign due to his controversial behavior. If he does not do so, they intend to appeal to the academic senate of the Faculty of Economics to dismiss the dean, members of the academic senate of VŠE Lukáš Hulínský and Štěpán Staněk told journalists today. They did not want to anticipate further steps if their demands were not heard. According to them, the students of the Faculty of Economics of the University of Economics initiated the call for the demonstration. In addition to the rector, the majority of student members of the VŠE academic senate also called on Ševčík to resign.
Economist and politician Ševčík, who is an expert on the Tricolor movement, led the Faculty of Economics for two terms between 2010 and 2018, even then he faced student protests. The academic senate re-elected him last April.
In the past, Ševčík already participated in some protest actions against the government, on Saturday, according to the Forum 24 server participated in an anti-government demonstration and subsequent attempt to remove the Ukrainian flag from the National Museum. On Sunday, the university distanced itself from Ševčík's performance at the demonstration and stated that the dean's behavior was “out of line” for a long time.
However, Ševčík claims that he did not perform at the demonstration. Allegedly, he only accompanied a man who was beaten by the police, and therefore does not understand the accusations of the management of VŠE. “I declare that I did not want to enter the building of the National Museum or tear down any flags that were hung on it,” the dean said earlier. He agreed with Ševčík that the dean would announce the decision to resign by today. Ševčík told journalists that he would consider submitting his resignation, today he asked for more time to think about it.
The law allows the rector to dismiss the dean on his own initiative in certain situations, but only after the prior statement of the faculty's academic senate and with the approval of the university's academic senate schools. This applies to situations where the dean seriously fails to fulfill his duties or seriously damages the interest of the university or faculty.
