The rector commented on the criticisms in the motion for dismissal directly at a meeting of the CTU Academic Senate today, as he said, "with deep respect and awareness of the responsibility I bear as rector of this university."
"I take the Senator's reasoning for his proposal with great seriousness and also with an effort to understand the reproach points made in the proposal. I appreciate the fact that the proposal is substantive and is directed towards a goal that is common to all of us - that is the integrity, stability and reputation of our university," the Rector told the senators that were present at the session.
Petráček emphasized that at no time during his mandate was the financial stability of CTU in Prague threatened and there were no violations of the obligations arising from CTU in Prague Management Rules and other legal norms governing management. "Every year, an audit is conducted by an external auditor and the auditor's report is part of the management report sent to the Ministry of Education and Science. None of the auditor's final reports during my two terms of office contained a serious finding that would have assessed my work as incompetent to manage the management of CTU in Prague," he added.
In the area of legal services, he acknowledged an increase in the cost of legal services. However, according to Petráček, this corresponds to the amount of transactions that were handled and benefited CTU in Prague. When comparing the amount of the invoice without VAT and the amount of the benefit to CTU, the ratio is appropriate and all contractual relations with the legal counsel were concluded in accordance with the provisions relating to legal services of Act No. 134/2016 Coll., the Public Procurement Act, Rector Petráček told the Academic Senate of CTU.
"In the area of capital construction, we have submitted a document to the Ministry of Education and Science on the basis of which CTU obtained subsidies for the reconstruction of the extension of Building B (Faculty of Civil Engineering). The plan for future investments is being discussed with the deans and we all understand its importance. I admit that capital assets are a big problem in general, mainly because of the lack of funds in general in the order of billions. That is why we have started discussions on strategic investment issues with the Ministry of Education to prepare new programmes," Petraček told the plenary.
With these and many other arguments with detailed data, he sought to refute the validity of five reproaches, with the appellant, Mr. Vokřínek, identifying the following areas as problems: the inability to manage the university's economy, the expenditure on legal and consultancy services, the transparency of the processes of preparing and implementing capital construction, the quality management of the university, and the dismal state of labour relations, including the absence of a collective agreement.
Regarding the sixth point of reproach, where communication and the quality of the submitted materials were identified as problematic, Rector Petráček said, "I acknowledge the criticism. Although I have repeatedly tried to improve the situation, this has only been partially successful. This is mainly due to the staffing of the legal department, which is significantly weakened."
After the vote by which the Academic Senate of the CTU accepted Jiří Vokřínek's proposal and the rector was dismissed, Vojtěch Petráček said, "First of all, I must say that academic freedom of speech and expression are very important to me. Within this framework, a proposal for my dismissal was also submitted to the Academic Senate of the CTU.
Mrzí mne, že jsem byl odvolán, a to na sklonku mého působení ve dvou funkčních obdobích, v nichž se mi podařilo například vyřešit ve prospěch univerzity spor se státem o dvě miliardy korun a zabránit finančním ztrátám v dalších zděděných kauzách. ČVUT za mého působení ve funkci rektora dosáhlo historicky svého nejlepšího postavení v mezinárodním QS rankingu a mnoha dalších úspěchů na mezinárodním i tuzemském poli. Podařilo se mi i nastartovat důležité strategické projekty. Děkuji všem, kdo se mnou v posledních osmi letech spolupracovali.“
I regret that I was dismissed at the end of my two terms in office, during which I managed, for example, to resolve in the University's favour a dispute with the state over two billion crowns and to prevent financial losses in other inherited cases. During my tenure as Rector, CTU achieved its best ever position in the international QS ranking and many other successes both internationally and domestically. I have also managed to launch important strategic projects. I thank everyone who has worked with me over the past eight years."