Problems with Financing the Development Strategy of Higher Education

Abstract

The author deals with the problem of financing higher education in the context of the objectives set forth in the Strategy for the development o f higher education in Poland up to 2010, prepared by the Ministry of National Education and Sport. She also claims that the two basic objectives of the strategy - an increase in the number of students defining the gross higher education ratio indicator at 65% and an improvement to the standards of higher education - require a faster increase in outlay on higher education than the increase in the number of students. Increased outlay should be allocated to providing material assistance for students (so that those of a poorer financial background may have easier access to education), and improving the pay and working conditions of teachers as a factor that determines the standards of education. The author shows that the strategy provides not enough answers to the question of how much outlay is needed to realise the strategy’s objectives and the question about the sources and structure of funding.