According to information published by the Slovak Academy of Sciences on the basis of a survey by the Focus agency, 73.1 per cent of Slovaks completely or somewhat trust universities. The institution with the highest trust continues to be the Slovak Academy of Sciences. Slovak science, Slovak scientists and the institutions they work on, have enjoyed the trust of their fellow citizens for a long time.
As the SAS stated in its news, trust "is consistently high across Slovak society – it is high among all age categories and is independent of the respondents' education or income."
It is necessary for Slovak universities to build on the results of the survey and use it in arguments with the government of the Slovak Republic when obtaining financial support for science, research and higher education. Rudolf Kropil, president of the Slovak Rectors' Conference, says: "I am pleased that Slovaks have confidence in universities. I firmly believe that representatives of the Slovak government will take into account the credibility of universities and, in the interest of society's needs, will financially support and invest in higher education, science, research and artistic activities, as well as in higher education infrastructure."
The survey was conducted from May 24 to 31, 2023 on a sample of 1,012 respondents.
Source: Slovak Academy of Sciences
Photo: UJS