Academic reforms in Italy

If you already thought that the political course and agenda of the Berlusconi gouvernment were bizarre, to say the least, this article of "The Scientist" on the proposed reforms of the academic systems will not surprise you:

"Last month, the Italian Parliament approved a debated reform proposed by the University and Research Minister Letizia Moratti that, among other measures, eliminates permanent contracts for all but professors, and establishes a national exam in order to qualify as a professor."

The article gives a detailed account of how an "academic career" is supposed to look like in Italy:

"The core of the new law is the reorganization of the career scheme, with the goal of speeding up the process of becoming a professor. For instance, PhD students interested in continuing research will be offered a four year-fellowship and then three-year contract with universities, which can then be renewed for another three years. After that, they will be entitled to compete for posts as professors in a national exam held every 2 years. Then, local universities will be able to take their pick from the exam winners – a move supporters of the reform argue will reduce researchers' dependence on professors to pass. If exam-takers pass and receive local appointments, they will receive a three-year contract. This contract would be renewable for another three years, after which universities would have to decide whether to offer the temporary professors a permanent post."

So every permanently employed scientist is going to be a professor. Nice. I do not have many Italian colleagues so far, but suspect there will be even less around in the coming years, if this plan goes through.

I only wonder: who is going to do all the work?