University up for grabs?

RIGA - There are more than 10 universities in Latvia offering higher
education. Some of them own property and advanced equipment -
scrumptious pickings for people looking in to earning big bucks.

The dean of the social science faculty at Latvia's Academy of
Medicine, Ilze Ostrovska, said the problem started in 1994 when the
school managed to arrange the university education system as in many
of the Western countries.

"Hospitals are attached to universities with medical education. Of
course, it is very understandable, because students have an
opportunity for practical training. Hospitals are an integral part of
their training, but recently there has been a political decision to
take away the hospitals and to put this university under the
University of Latvia and under the Ministry of Education. To my
perception, somebody wants to privatize hospitals or at least parts
of hospitals. That was the situation last year in June," Ostrovska
said.

The former government, led by Andris Skele, clubbed a decision to
merge the University of Latvia and LAM. Riga Aviation University had
already been eliminated.

"They do not merge. That university simply gulps this university,"
Ostrovska said.

The document issued on Aug. 12 by the Cabinet of Ministers was not a
document of merger, and merger is not the appropriate term for what
was to happen with LAM and UL, she said.

"Nobody thought for five minutes about merging, because it is simply
impossible and not necessary," said Ostrovska. "It is lies if
somebody says it was plans for merging. In that document it says
black on white that all legal rights and property is passed to the
old university [UL]. That is absolutely against the law on higher
education. Still it was issued," Ostrovska said.

Principal of UL, Ivars Lacis, stressed there is no fight between the
two universities.

"These are two independent academic institutions which are very
important. We belong to the Department of Higher Education and
Research, but Academy of Medicine correlates with Ministry of
Welfare. The government cannot manage this process between these two
ministries who are responsible for different political fields," said
Lacis.

"Both universities are owners of different things. There are
buildings which are quite interesting, equipment, students; there
are voices saying the Academy of Medicine is a target for some kind
of privatization."

However, when University of Latvia gains control over the Latvian
Academy of Medicine, they will also gain the hospitals owned by them.
Lacis does not want to think of it as something bad.

"I don't think that we are occupants. We are interested in the
process that is right, especially medical students and medical
professors and of course they are interested in cooperation," Lacis
said.

Ostrovska is convinced that some of LAM's buildings were going to be
sold to some private person, should LAM be taken over by UL.

"Even a family name was mentioned in different circles. There was
some exchange of barter between persons interested in government
positions at that time - to give these buildings for privatization
very cheaply," Ostrovska said.

"We were supposed to be transferred to Riga Aviation University.
Those buildings were given to University of Latvia and we were
supposed to move there. What to do with our students? It was
announced that our students' two-year studies will be announced as
preparation courses for the old university (UL)."

Ostrovska also added there is a chance LAM students' tuition money
spent will be lost for those two years.

First and last in this process of merging the two universities come
the students. The students are interesting for universities because
they pay for their education. Still, students are afraid the quality
they pay for may go down. Girts Slavins, second year public relations
student at LAM, said he would feel bad if there were any changes.

"The quality of our education may go down. If there would be only a
change of the name of the university, then it is okay. If the changes
are for money and not for the students or the quality of our
education, the students will go out in the streets and do bad
things," Slavins said.

The information leaking to the students is not helping them to
understand what goes on between the two universities. Most of what
they know they have heard through the grapevine, and a lot is rumor
blown out of proportion.

"We went and asked the school board 'what the hell is going on?'" No
one could say anything," Slavins said.

Andrejs Tiknus, spokesman for Latvia's Privatization Agency, said he
did not know anything about the privatization of LAM.

"I have not heard anything about this. It is not on our lists, so I
cannot comment on this," Tiknus said.

Ivars Lacis said he does not think there are forces which are able to
start such a big project like privatization of universities.

"Generally, if you are privatizing, it is quite a dirty and tricky
business. If you are dealing with the privatization of
student-related concerns, you should be very careful," Lacis said.

There is very little LAM can do now to help themselves out of their
situation. Ostrovska said the government has frozen the university's
bank accounts.

"Just because they want it so. They want to make us stop functioning.
In order to destroy us. Those who want to do something in private
higher education market would benefit from this. Nobody cares about
the outcome. Nobody cares about salaries. Nobody cares about what is
going on, still the attitude is such - let them live as they can,"
Ostrovska said.