Prague English-language university declares bankruptcy

Prague City University (PCU) has declared bankruptcy, leaving hundreds of international students unable to complete their degrees and raising questions about oversight of private English-language institutions in the Czech capital.

Prague City University (PCU), affiliated with Britain’s Teesside University, has shut down after months of financial and operational problems. Students, some from as far away as Sri Lanka and African nations like Uganda, had already reported difficulties contacting supervisors for bachelor’s theses as early as April, according to an investigative report by Seznam Zprávy.

The Times Higher Education (THE) site, which covers university affairs, described how Teesside University severed ties with PCU, whose academics complained that the school was not paying them. The England-based university is now trying to create a new sister university.

Staff, meanwhile, have been left with unpaid wages, with some pursuing legal action. “The whole institution simply collapsed from within,” one student told the publication.

PCU’s financial director, Rémi Diligent, emailed students stating the university could no longer continue its bachelor’s program, offering apologies but no further explanation.

Service providers are also seeking payment, including a cleaning company owed CZK 170,000 and unpaid rent totaling CZK 9 million. A group of students has even filed a criminal complaint alleging fraud and mismanagement.

The Ministry of Education confirmed it is monitoring the situation and helping affected students transfer or obtain refunds.

PCU’s closure issues highlight increased scrutiny of foreign-focused universities in Czechia. The inherent problem goes far beyond PCU itself; some say it reflects on the state of Czech higher education as a whole.

For foreign students, the question of who is directly responsible matters less than the broader perception of a system that allowed them to spend thousands on a degree they never received and now provides little support in addressing the fallout.

"We relied on a university accredited in the Czech Republic to live up to its obligations. And now we are without a degree and without money," said one PCU student who traveled over 8,000 kilometers to study in Prague.