Zpravodajství ČTK   28.7.2008


Programme uncovers Czech university teachers' plagiarism - press

Prague, July 28 (CTK) - Masaryk University in Brno is developing a computer
programme that will uncover plagiarism among university teachers who have
copied their publications or habilitation theses from someone else, daily
Hospodarske noviny (HN) writes today.
If uncovered, the teachers would be brought to the ethical commission. In
the extreme case they might be forced to leave the school as those who spoil
its good name, HN writes.
"We want the works of teachers to whom the same rules apply as to students
to be controlled. The system compares particular quotations and passages and
it can say to what extent the work is identical with another one," HN quotes
Jitka Brandejsova, from the university's research team, as saying.
The teachers do not have to be afraid of losing their degree, however, HN
writes.
"Titles are not returned in this country, extreme cases are dealt with by
court. The school cannot strip the teacher of the title even though it
should have the right," Vaclav Paces, Czech Academy of Sciences chairman, is
quoted as saying.
Several cases of university teachers copying from foreign literature without
mentioning the source have been uncovered in the Czech Republic.
In one of the famous cases, West Bohemian University Professor Ivo Budil was
accused last year of copying from Canadian Professor David Scheffel.
Masaryk University has also prepared a similar programme that uncovers
plagiarism among students, HN writes.
It says it has been applied for more than two months at 17 public
universities, and two private schools have just started to use it.
More than one million documents, such as bachelor works and dissertations as
well as various papers and other expert publications are stored in the
electronic system now, HN writes.
The virtual archive to which the Education Ministry has contributed ten
million crowns, compares texts in Czech, English, Slovak, German and French,
but it is not capable of comparing foreign student works with the Czech
ones, HN writes.
It says it is easier to uncover cheating in the humanities.
The number of students punished for plagiarism has been rising. Recently,
the university in Zlin, south Moravia, expelled two students who copied
their dissertations, HN writes.