1. THE SYSTEM OF EDUCATION IN UKRAINE: MAIN INDICATORS P
Transkrypt
1. THE SYSTEM OF EDUCATION IN UKRAINE: MAIN INDICATORS P
1. THE SYSTEM OF EDUCATION IN UKRAINE: MAIN INDICATORS P ursuant to the Law of Ukraine On Education, the right of citizens to obtain education is ensured, first of all, by an extensive network of educational establishments, their public character and variety of forms of education1. This section analyses the main indicators describing the state of the institutional education network in Ukraine: the number and dynamics of the development of educational establishments and their students; provision of educational establishments with personnel of the relevant qualification; and the sources of funding for education. In the recent decade, Ukraine has managed to preserve rather high indicators on the human development index primarily thanks to its education component. It may be said that the existing network of educational establishments generally ensures a sufficient level of coverage for citizens and the quality of their education. Analysis of quantitative indicators shows that the institutional network of education in Ukraine is developing at a high pace: institutions of new types are established, the number of higher educational establishments has drastically increased, the forms of ownership and sources of funding are diversified, and the number of students is increasing. At the same time, tendencies exist that may bring about significant deformations in the process of continuous general education in the country. The network of institutions at various levels of education is developing unevenly. A reduction can be observed in the network of primary education institutions preschool and extracurricular educational establishments; their coverage of children and teenagers is decreasing. The network of educational establishments in the country (rural areas) is in a critical state. 1.1 PRESCHOOL EDUCATION reduction of the network of preschool educational establishments is furthered by such objective factor as the decrease in the birth rate4 and, correspondingly, the number of children of preschool age. This factor however cannot excuse the steady decrease in the coverage of children with preschool education. Ukrainian legislation views preschool education as a primary element of the general structure of education in the country. At the same time, education of this level is not legislatively defined as obligatory and is granted to children at the parents wish2. This absence means that the laws fail to address the issue of state guarantees of preschool education, casts doubt on its role in the system of continuous education, patently creates preconditions for unequal preparation of children for school3. Razumkov Centre experts believe that the reduction of the network of preschool education is conditioned by a number of socio-economic factors: (1) the fall of production in early 1990s led to a forced transfer of departmental preschool educational establishments in subordination of local self-government bodies that cannot ensure their sufficient funding; (2) insufficient budget funding of education leads to its deficiency at the level of preschool education as well; (3) low incomes of many The network and number of children The quantitative indicators that describe the network and contingent of preschool educational establishments show a steady downward tendency. Beyond doubt, the 1 See: The Law of Ukraine On Education of June 4, 1991, Article 3.1. See: ibid., Article 29, Article 34. 3 The absence of data on preschool education in the Youth and Education section of the annual reports for the President of Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine drawn by the State Committee of Ukraine on Youth Policy, Sports and Tourism is demonstrative, as well as the absence of information about human resources of the system of preschool education in information-analytical review Education in Ukraine drawn by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine for the 2nd All-Ukrainian Congress of Educationalists (2001). 4 The problem of the natality rate decline was examined in more detail in the Razumkov Centre analytical report The Church and Society: Co-operation in the Name of Human Life. National Security and Defence, 2001, ¹3, pp.3-5. 2 RAZUMKOV CENTRE l NATIONAL SECURITY & DEFENCE l No.4, 2002 l 3 THE SYSTEM OF EDUCATION IN UKRAINE: MAIN INDICATORS decreased from 55.5% to 54.9%7, but even now it is much higher than in Ukraine. families do not allow them to pay for education of their children at preschool establishments and are unfavourable for the development of the network of private preschool educational establishments; (4) because of the high unemployment rate among the youth, many young families do not have to send their children to preschool establishments. Meanwhile, in the post-socialist states candidates for EU membership, after a certain decrease in the rate of coverage of children with preschool education witnessed at the beginning of 1990s, a steady upward tendency is observed. For instance, in Lithuania, in 1996-2000, the rate of coverage grew from 30.1% to 41% of the total number of children aged between one and six years, including in the age group of above three years from 49.9% to 74.4% in towns and from 10.7% to 15.6% in rural areas8. One should also pay attention to the appearance of home education (home schooling) within the Ukrainian education system. It is affordable only to high-income families; thus, the factor of home education does not have a significant impact on the dynamic of the network of preschool educational establishments. Therefore, the tendency still observed in preschool education in Ukraine does not coincide with the tendencies inherent to post-socialist states candidates for EU membership and points to the comparatively lower pace for leading preschool education out of the crisis of the transitional period. In 1990-2000, the network of preschool establishments shrank by a third (33.5%); the number of children attending them by 40.1%; the rate of coverage of children of preschool age fell from 57% in 1990 to 40% at the beginning of 2001 (Diagram Preschool educational establishments 5). At the same time, there are some positive tendencies in the development of the preschool education network that include creation of new types of preschool establishments, for instance, educational and upbringing complexes preschool general education establishment. As of the beginning of 2000/2001 academic year, there were some 1,300 such establishments in Ukraine. Specialised preschools are established, too, for instance, of the artistic, aesthetic, sports, recreation and humanitarian trends9. If we take into account only those establishments that are actually open6, the reduction of the network of preschool establishments will make up 46.5%, of their seats 51% (from 2.277 million in 1990 to 1.117 million at the beginning of 2001). The reduction of preschool educational establishments in rural areas was especially noticeable. The number of institutions decreased by only 29.4%, but the number of their seats by 53.7%; coverage of children fell more than two and half times from 43% to 16%. Distribution of preschool educational establishments by form of ownership In towns, the number of preschool educational establishments decreased by 37.8%; the number of seats two-fold; the rate of coverage of children fell from 69% to 49%. The overwhelming majority of preschool establishments stays in municipal (58%) and collective (40%) ownership; the state maintains only 7.4% of institutions; private preschool establishments make up 2.3% of the total network (Diagram Distribution of preschool educational establishments by the form of ownership 10). The situation in Ukraine resembles the state of preschool education in Russia, where the decline of that indicator has not been reversed yet. In 1995-2000, it Preschool educational establishments Number of children, ths. Number of establishments, ths. Rate of coverage of children of preschool age, % 2,428 2,268 1,918 1,918 1,736 1,536 24.5 57% 24.4 1990 5 6 7 8 9 10 4 55% 23.8 1991 51% 23.2 1992 1,342 49% 22.3 1993 47% 21.4 1994 1,172 1,103 1,055 983 41% 18.4 40% 17.6 39% 16.3 38% 17.2 33% 44% 20.2 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 Sources: Ukraines Statistical Yearbook 2000. The State Statistic Committee of Ukraine, Kyiv, 2001, p.436. As of the beginning of 2001, out of 16.3 thousand preschool establishments, only 13.1 thousand were operational. See: ibid. Education in Russia before 2001. Analytical Review. http://www.ed.gov.ru/koi8/obzor.html. Rimkeviciene V. http://www.un.lt/HDR/2001/default.html. See: Education in Ukraine. Information-analytical Review. Kyiv, 2001, p.41. See: ibid. l RAZUMKOV CENTRE l NATIONAL SECURITY & DEFENCE l No.4, 2002 2000 GENERAL SECONDARY EDUCATION Language of instruction Distribution of preschool educational establishments by the form of ownership Over the years of independence, education has shifted towards Ukrainian as the primary language of instruction. While in 1991, 50.8% of children at preschool educational establishments were taught in Ukrainian, in 2000, they made up 76.0%; in Russian 48.8% and 23.6% respectively. The share of children taught in other languages remained unchanged 0.4%. Private 371 State-owned 1,200 Municipal 9,500 The share of children taught in the Russian language is especially high in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (ARC) 96.3%, Eastern and Southern regions of Ukraine (Luhansk region 80.3%; Donetsk 65.5%; Zaporizhya 37.1%; Odesa 35.4%; Kharkiv 17.3%; Kherson 16.8%). By contrast, in Vinnytsia region and the Western regions, their share is either zero (Volyn, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, Ternopil regions) or insignificant (Transcarpathian 0.6%; Chernivtsi 0.2%; Rivne 0.1%). Collective 5,200 Preschool educational establishments for children with special needs According to the State Statistic Committee of Ukraine, in 1999, there were 183 operational corrective preschool educational establishments for children that require correction of physical and/or mental development; they accommodated 16.2 thousand children. At that, there was not a single corrective establishment in rural areas. Some 4,000 children in preschool educational establishments are taught in the Hungarian and German languages (Transcarpathian region), in Polish (Lviv region), Moldavian (Odesa region), Romanian and Jewish (Chernivtsi region), Crimean Tatar (ARC) languages12. There were also some 4,000 special groups with 58.1 thousand children11. By and large, the regional distribution of education in national languages largely corresponds to the present-day language and cultural situation in the country and reflects the needs of national minorities in the places of their compact residence. It is rather difficult to assess the sufficiency of the network of preschool educational establishments because of the absence of an official definition of children with special needs and the contradiction between the notion of children used in statistics dealing with the sector of education and statistics of the Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine that registers disabled persons as children only before they reach the age of 16. Besides, recently, the number children with special needs that remain unaccounted for has been increasing. The above data point to the reduction of the network of preschool education in Ukraine, which is not in line with the proclaimed course of the state towards creation of a system of continuous education, where preschool education presents a mandatory element, reduces the ability of children to obtain preschool education and puts them in unequal initial conditions in the system of general education. At the same time, the existing network of preschool establishments is supplemented with institutions of a new type, takes into account the needs of children that require correction of physical and/or mental development and language needs of national minorities in the places of their compact residence. 1.2 GENERAL SECONDARY EDUCATION Pursuant to the Constitution of Ukraine, complete general secondary education is obligatory for all citizens13. Ukraines legislation terms general secondary education as an obligatory basic element of continuous education14. In Ukraine, general secondary education rests on quite a developed institutional network that may generally satisfy educational needs of children and teenagers of school age. General educational establishments of new types 11 See: Full-time Preschool Educational Establishments in Ukraine in 1999. Statistical Bulletin. Kyiv, 2000, p.7. Detailed data of preschool educational establishments as of 2000-2001 are absent. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine publication Education in Ukraine. Information-analytical Review cites the following data on existing preschool establishments for children with special needs as of the beginning of 2000/2001 academic year: compensatory establishments 1,400, sanatorium establishments 165. See: Education in Ukraine. Information-analytical Review. Kyiv, 2001, p.41. 12 Sources: Ukraines Statistical Yearbook 2000..., p.439; Education in Ukraine. Information-analytical Review..., p.126. 13 The Constitution of Ukraine, Article 53. 14 See: The Law of Ukraine On General Secondary Education of May 13, 1999, Article 2, Article 3. RAZUMKOV CENTRE l NATIONAL SECURITY & DEFENCE l No.4, 2002 l 5 THE SYSTEM OF EDUCATION IN UKRAINE: MAIN INDICATORS 1990-2000 remained stable nearly 22 thousand; the number of pupils goes down; the number of teachers shows rather noticeable fluctuations, which points to the instability of human resources of general education establishments (Diagram General education establishments16). As of the academic year of 2000/2001, the ratio of teachers to pupils made up 1:11.7 (against 1:13.3 in 1990/1991). are established; the number of schools working in two and three shifts goes down; private schools are spreading. At the same time, the state of secondary education in rural areas is nearing a critical point; the network of evening schools shrinks, with a simultaneous increase in the number of students observed in recent years. Since September 1, 2001, transition to 12-year general secondary education has begun in Ukraine. It consists of three stages: primary, incomplete and complete general secondary education15. General education establishments are subdivided into institutions of the 1st grade (primary school four years), 2nd grade (basic school five years) and 3rd grade (high school three years). High school should function mainly as professional where full-scale general education is given, irrespective of the profile. As a rule, graduates of basic secondary schools continue education at high school or at other educational establishments. For instance, in 2000, 66.8% of graduates continued education at high school; 4% transferred to evening schools; 16% entered vocational schools; 11% higher educational establishments17. Distribution of educational establishments by type. General education establishments encompass institutions of different types. Their classification and number as of the beginning of 2000/2001 academic year are presented on Insert Types of general education establishments. The network, number of children and teachers at educational establishments The network of general secondary education consists of general education establishments of all types and forms of ownership, including for children and teenagers that require social assistance and social rehabilitation. The network of general secondary education also includes extracurricular educational establishments, inter-school training and production plants and those vocational schools and higher educational establishments of the 1st and 2nd levels of accreditation that give complete general secondary education. Day educational establishments make up the overwhelming majority (nearly 98.9%) of general educational establishments: as of 2000/2001 academic year, there were 21,965 of those. There is a strong tendency towards the reduction of the share of day educational establishments working in two or three shifts: in 1990/1991, they made up 20%; the share of pupils learning in the second or third shift fell from 15% in 1990/1991 to 8% in 2000/2001; in 87%, lessons are organised in one shift; in 13% in two or three shifts. The contingent of pupils at general education establishments is normally formed by children aged between 6 and 18 years, with the exception of students of evening (shift) educational establishments. Day educational establishments employ 572 thousand teachers. The ratio of teachers to pupils makes up 1:11.6. General information. Quantitative indicators prove that the network of general education establishments in General education establishments, ths. Number of pupils Number, units 7,132 7,102 7,088 Number of teachers 7,096 7,125 7,143 7,134 7,078 6,987 6,857 6,764 543 537 21.8 21.9 1990/1991 1991/1992 579 565 22.0 22.1 1992/1993 1993/1994 596 576 585 576 573 571 577 22.3 22.3 22.2 22.1 22.1 22.2 22.2 1994/1995 1995/1996 1996/1997 1997/1998 1998/1999 1999/2000 2000/2001 15 Pursuant to the Law of Ukraine On General Secondary Education (Article 48) and the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine On Transition of General Education Establishments to the New Substance, Structure and 12-year Term of Study of November 16, 2000. The transition is to be completed in three phases: from September 1, 2001 in general education establishments of the 1st grade; from September 1, 2005 in establishments of the 2nd grade; from September 1, 2007 in gymnasiums, collegiums, specialised schools, and from September 1, 2008 in other general education establishments of the 3rd grade. 16 Unless specified otherwise, the data hereinafter are cited and calculated after: Ukraines Statistical Yearbook 2000..., pp.440-448; Education in Ukraine. Information-analytical Review..., pp.40-43, 68-71, 131, 134. 17 Ukraines Statistical Yearbook 2000..., p.448. 6 l RAZUMKOV CENTRE l NATIONAL SECURITY & DEFENCE l No.4, 2002 GENERAL SECONDARY EDUCATION v v v v v v Evening (shift) educational establishments make up only some 1.1% of the total number of general education establishments. There is a tendency towards a decrease in their number with a simultaneous increase in the number of pupils. As the Diagram Evening (shift) educational establishments shows, the network of evening schools shrank more than two-fold; simultaneously, the number of students increased by 5.4%, compared to 1998/1999. Types of general education establishments general secondary school (grades 1, 2, 3 or combination thereof) gymnasium (grades 2-3; with profound study of separate subjects according to the profile) lyceum (grade 3; with special education and pre-vocational training) collegium (grade 3; of philological-philosophic or cultural-aesthetic trends) evening (shift) school (grades 2-3) boarding school: w general education boarding school (for children that require social assistance; with partial or complete maintenance at the public expense) w specialised boarding school (grades 1-3; with profound study of separate subjects and courses) w special boarding school (for children with special needs (that require correction of physical or mental development)) w sanatorium boarding school (grades 1-3; for children that require prolonged treatment) w social rehabilitation school (for children that require special conditions of upbringing)18. Evening (shift) schools employ 4,600 teachers. The ratio of teachers to pupils makes up 1:25.4, exceeding the average Ukrainian ratio and the ratio of day schools more than two-fold. Institutions of new types. New types of institutions include gymnasiums, lyceums, collegiums and educational and upbringing complexes. As of the beginning of 2000/2001 academic year, there were 1,832 such institutions, or 8.3% of the total number of day general educational establishments. Since 1995, the network of institutions of a new type has shown a comparatively high rate of growth: in 2000/2001 academic year, the number of gymnasiums increased, compared to 1995/1996, almost two-fold (from 150 to 296), of lyceums more than twofold (from 138 to 283). Evening (shift) educational establishments 193 Number, units 515 Number of pupils, ths. 136 118 295 1990/1991 1995/1996 256 1996/1997 248 246 1997/1998 1998/1999 117 114 111 108 352 245 1999/2000 2000/2001 General education establishments for children with special needs 154.3 151.4 135.4 130.2 85 69 411 68 398 396 1990/1991 1995/1996 Number, units 18 19 20 1996/1997 1997/1998 Number of pupils, ths. 69 68 66 395 400 1998/1999 401 69 402 1999/2000 2000/2001 Number of children with special needs, ths. General education establishments for children with special needs. The network of schools for children with special needs counts 402 institutions nine less than in 1990/1991. The number of children studying at those institutions in 1995-2001 generally remained stable some 68-69 thousand (Diagram General education establishments for children with special needs). Meanwhile, statistical data show that the number of children with special needs increases: while in 1995, there were 130.2 thousand19 such children, at the beginning of 2001, they totalled 154.3 thousand20. Hence, there arises the problem of sufficiency of general education establishments for children with special needs. Distribution of educational establishments by the form of ownership. The overwhelming majority (99%) of general secondary education establishments are state-owned; they teach 6,743.7 thousand pupils (99.7% of their total number) and employ 571.5 thousand teachers (99.1%). The ratio of teachers to pupils makes up 1:11.8. The majority (99.7%) of state general education establishments are subordinated to the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. Others report to various ministries, agencies and organisations. Secondary educational establishments are categorised pursuant to the Law of Ukraine On General Secondary Education, Article 9.1. Children of Ukraine - 1996. Official Statistics. State Statistic Committee of Ukraine, Kyiv, 1998, p.85. Ukraines Statistical Yearbook 2000..., p.494. RAZUMKOV CENTRE l NATIONAL SECURITY & DEFENCE l No.4, 2002 l 7 THE SYSTEM OF EDUCATION IN UKRAINE: MAIN INDICATORS The sector of private general education establishments makes up only 1% of the total network. All private institutions are of the day type; the overwhelming majority of them belong to new types of institutions. At the beginning of 2000/2001 academic year, there were 229 private schools that taught 20.3 thousand children and teenagers (0.3% of all pupils) and employed 5,125 teachers (0.9% of the teachers corps of the daily general education establishments). The ratio of teachers to pupils made up 1:4, which exceeds the ratio of state day educational establishments almost three-fold. Private educational establishments are concentrated in the Kharkiv (31) and Odesa (29) regions; ARC (25); the city of Kyiv (24); Dnipropetrovsk (23) and Donetsk (19) regions. At the same time, in Volyn and Ternopil regions, there is not a single private general education establishment. It is noteworthy that the share of private schools and their pupils actually coincides with the relevant Russian indicators 0.9% of schools and 0.3% of pupils21. Distribution of general secondary education establishments by location. Country (rural) schools More than two thirds (67.1%; 14.9 thousand) of secondary education establishments in Ukraine are located in rural areas. Almost a third (32.4%; 2.2 million) of the Ukraines schoolchildren studies there. Country schools. Institutions of new types account for a very small share of educational establishments in rural areas; moreover, there is a tendency of reduction of their number. While in 1999/2000 academic year, there were three gymnasiums, 11 lyceums and four collegiums22; in 2000/2001 three gymnasiums, eight lyceums and three collegiums, that accounted for only 9% of country schoolchildren. The total number of such pupils in rural areas is almost 100 times less than in Ukrainian cities23. in 2001/2002 academic year there are 147 ungraded schools; there are districts (Ripky, Novhorod Siverskyi) where such schools make up nearly 40%)25. At the beginning of 2001/2002 academic year, the number of vacant positions of teachers in country schools was close to 3,000 (the most in Kherson and Mykolayiv regions and in the ARC) 26. Due to the deficiency of teachers in some schools, only the invariant portion of curricula is performed27, which reduces not only the possibilities of obtaining good general education but also the chances of pupils to continue education at higher educational establishments. Language of instruction. Schools of national minorities Secondary education is gradually transferred to the Ukrainian language. While in 1991/1992 academic year, 49% of pupils were taught in the Ukrainian language and 50% in Russian, in 2000/2001, 70% of pupils were taught in Ukrainian and 29% in Russian. The share of pupils taught in languages of national minorities has remained virtually unchanged and makes approximately 0.4%. As we may see on the map Languages of instruction in general education establishments in Ukraines regions, a significant sector of Russian language education is preserved in the Eastern and Southern regions of Ukraine; by contrast, in Western regions, the Russian language of instruction occupies a small sector: 2% (Lviv, Transcarpathian, Chernivtsi regions); 1% (Volyn, IvanoFrankivsk regions); 0.3% (Rivne, Ternopil regions). In rural areas, there are actually no private schools. Only in Transcarpathian region, there are three private Hungarian language schools with 233 children24. In connection with the deterioration of the demographic situation, the number of ungraded schools non-affordable for local budgets is increasing. For instance, in Chernihiv region (second by the territory and 18th by population), 21 Education in Russia before 2001. Analytical Review. http://www.ed.gov.ru/koi8/obzor.html. Secondary Educational Establishments of Ukraine at the Beginning of 1999/2000 Academic Year..., p.8. 23 Polushkina V. Computerised Class as a Dream. Kievskie Vedomosti, September 1, 2001, p.4. 24 Secondary Educational Establishments of Ukraine at the Beginning of 1999/2000 Academic Year..., pp.11,35. 25 On the Results of Work of General Education and Vocational Education Establishments in 2000/2001 Academic Year and Main Tasks for the New Academic Year. From a speech by the Head of the Chernihiv Regional Education Department H.Tymoshko Osvita, August 22, 2001, p.6. 26 Ibid, p.4. 27 Ibid. 22 8 l RAZUMKOV CENTRE l NATIONAL SECURITY & DEFENCE l No.4, 2002 EXTRACURRICULAR EDUCATION are virtually absent in rural areas; country schools are facing an acute problem of staffing with teachers; in connection with the deterioration of the demographic situation, the number of ungraded schools is increasing. The number of schools and pupils at schools for children with special needs is being stabilised, which, in the conditions of an increase of the number of children of that category, raises the issue of insufficiency of the network of such schools. Schools of national minorities. In addition to Ukrainian and Russian language schools, there are schools and classes where pupils are taught in other national languages. At the beginning of 2000/2001 academic year, 27.9 thousand pupils were taught in the Romanian language; 21.2 thousand in Hungarian; 7,200 in Moldavian; 5,000 in Crimean Tatar; 1,200 in Polish28; 9,300 in English; 100 in Slovak; 100 in Bulgarian. 1.3 EXTRACURRICULAR EDUCATION The legislation of Ukraine30 defines extracurricular education as an element of the system of continuous education. At the same time, statistics show that the institutional network and the number of pupils at extracurricular educational establishments go down; reduction is especially noticeable regarding the institutions that require significant funding and comparatively complex equipment. Languages of instruction and languages optionally studied at general education and Sunday schools in Ukraine's regions29 The Autonomous Republic of Crimea: six schools with the Crimean Tatar language of instruction; 30 classes with the Crimean Tatar language of instruction in Russian language schools; profound study of the Crimean Tatar language in a number of schools; over 20 Sunday schools where the Armenian, Greek, Bulgarian, Jewish, Karaite, Krymchak, German, Czech languages are taught. Dnipropetrovsk region: the Armenian and Hebrew languages are studied as separate subjects. The network and number of pupils Extracurricular educational establishments include various institutions engaged in educational activity beyond the framework of the mandatory school programme. The types and indicators of development of the network of extracurricular educational establishments are presented in Table Network of extracurricular educational establishments 31. Donetsk region: the Modern Greek language is studied as a separate subject. 17 Sunday schools, where the Arabic, Armenian, Hebrew, German and Modern Greek languages are taught. Transcarpathian region: 72 schools with the Hungarian language of instruction (two of them private); 11 Romanian language schools; 29 Ukrainian/Hungarian; two Ukrainian/Slovak; one Russian/Romanian; one Ukrainian/Hungarian/Russian; one Ukrainian/Romanian/Russian language school. Network of extracurricular educational establishments Zaporizhya region: the Bulgarian, Modern Greek, Czech and Hebrew languages are studied optionally. Prymorskyi Ukrainian-Bulgarian lyceum, schools Alif and Chabad Lubavich are operational. Absolute growth / rate, % (2000 to 1992) Odesa region: nine schools with the Moldavian (Romanian) language of instruction; nine Moldavian/Romanian/Russian. The Bulgarian, Gagauz, Hebrew, Modern Greek, Polish, Czech languages are studied as separate subjects. Seven national Sunday schools: Bulgarian, Armenian, Korean, German, Polish, Romany, Czech. Network of extracurricular educational establishments Number of children, covered by extracurricular educational establishments -141 / -8.6% -362.5 / -23.0% Complexes, centres, palaces, homes of extracurricular work +7 / +0.9% -173.2 / -18.0% Centres, stations, clubs of technical art -57 / -17.7% -96.7 / -35.5% Centres, stations, clubs of young naturalists -65 / -27.8% -57.8 / -16.0% +20 / +28.6% -8.6 / -13.7% Indicators Chernivtsi region: Romanian language schools are operational; in 1997, the Centre for Ethnic Minorities of the South-West of Ukraine was established and now issues textbooks and manuals for Romanian language schools. Number total in that: Kyiv: 16 schools with the Russian language of instruction; classes of the Bulgarian, Hebrew, Modern Greek, Polish, Tatar languages. Five Sunday schools: Greek, Georgian, Lithuanian, German and Tatar. The cited data illustrate qualitative changes in the network of general education establishments of Ukraine: the number of institutions of a new type and private schools increases rather quickly. The overall level of human resources for the educational process is rather high. Secondary education is being transferred to the state language of instruction. The process of education takes into account language needs of national minorities in the places of their compact residence. Centres, stations, clubs of young local lore and tourists Centres, schools of aesthetic education At the same time, the dynamic of the number of teachers shows the instability of human resources within the system of general education. Institutions of new types +8 / +66.7% +7.3 / +140.0% Flotillas -6 / -24.0% -5.5 / -39.3% Centres of patriotic upbringing -3 / -50.0% -0.4 / -20.0% Children's and youth clubs of physical training -46 / -41.8% -43.2 / -57.7% Other kind of extracurricular educational establishments +1 / +2.3% +12.3 / +43.5% 28 For instance, Polish language classes were opened in school No.14 in Ivano-Frankivsk. See: Boiko S. The Path of the Lemkyo Churches. Slovo Prosvity, April 26, 2002, p.27. 29 Cited after: Education in Ukraine over the Years of Independence: the State, Facts and Events. Kyiv, 2001. 30 The Law of Ukraine On Extracurricular Education of June 22, 2000. 31 Source: Education in Ukraine. Information-analytical Review..., pp.56,79. RAZUMKOV CENTRE l NATIONAL SECURITY & DEFENCE l No.4, 2002 l 9 THE SYSTEM OF EDUCATION IN UKRAINE: MAIN INDICATORS As of the beginning of 2001, there were 1,497 extracurricular educational establishments within the system of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine with 1.2 million pupils children and teenagers32; some 30 thousand of them subordinate to the Small Academy of Sciences and its 25 local branches33. In 1990-2000, the network of such schools shrank to a smaller extent that the institutions of the Ministry of Education and Science: totally, it lost only 12 institutions (reduction from 1,533 in 1999 to 1,521 in 2000). However, the number of pupils in schools of aesthetic education dropped equally greatly by almost 20%. In 1992-2000, the number of pupils at extracurricular educational establishments fell by almost a quarter (by 362.5 thousand persons, or 23%)34. As we may see from the Table, the fall was especially noticeable within the structures of scientific-technical, tourist, local lore and sports trends, flotillas, centres, stations and clubs of young naturalists, i.e., the structures that require technical, sports and tourist equipment, computers, etc. The decrease in the number of centres of patriotic upbringing is partially set off by the increase in the number of attending children and teenagers. As the diagrams presented on the Insert show, the dynamic of the number of schools and their students was different. The number of childrens art schools increased almost three-fold, of their students more than twice. At the same time, the indicators describing the network of child music schools and evening schools of general music education went down. For instance, the number of music schools in 1990-2000 was reduced by 14% (168 schools), the number of their students by a third (101.1 thousand); the number of evening schools of general music education fell from 87 to two, the number of students from 14 thousand to 500. In addition to extracurricular educational establishments of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, there is a network of schools of aesthetic education subordinate to the Ministry of Culture and Arts (Insert Schools of aesthetic education of the Ministry of Culture and Arts of Ukraine 35). By and large, as of the beginning of 2000/2001 acaemic year, the system of extracurricular education covered only 20% of children and teenagers of the school age. This is twice less than, say, in Russia, where the relevant indicator makes up 40%. It is noteworthy Schools of aesthetic education of the Ministry that starting from 1992, the system of extracurof Culture and Arts of Ukraine ricular education in Russia is developing steadily, and the number of the pupils increases36. Child music schools Choreographic schools 295.2 285.9 1.6 199.1 1201 1204 1064 194.1 10 9 9 1036 2.0 1.9 1.8 5 1990/1991 1995/1996 1999/2000 2000/2001 1990/1991 Child drawing schools 74.8 18.5 138 1999/2000 131 2000/2001 Number of pupils, ths. Child art schools 22.4 20.0 126 1995/1996 Number, units Number of pupils, ths. Number, units 18.5 130 1.4 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 77.6 72.6 291 304 244 32.2 110 1990/1991 1995/1996 Number, units 1999/2000 2000/2001 1990/1991 Number of pupils, ths. 1995/1996 Number, units 1999/2000 2000/2001 Number of pupils, ths. 14.0 87 3 0.9 1995/1996 Number, units Ukrainian legislation defines vocational education as an element of the system of education that ensures primary professional training, conversion and retraining of workers37. The network and number of students Evening schools of general music education 1990/1991 The network of extracurricular education in Ukraine is characterised by a steady downward tendency. It is primarily observed in structures whose activity is associated with sophisticated equipment. This last thing proves that the deterioration of numerical indicators of the system of extracurricular education is conditioned not by the decreasing social demand for it but, rather, by its insufficient funding. 2 0.4 2 0.5 1999/2000 2000/2001 Number of pupils, ths. The network of vocational education is made up by vocational schools. Vocational schools are funded from the state budget38. There are three levels of attestation of vocational schools: training plants (1st level); vocational schools (2nd level); higher vocational schools and centres of vocational education (3rd level). Vocational schools give graduates the qualification of a qualified worker. Graduates of accredited higher vocational schools of the 3rd level of accreditation may obtain qualification of a junior specialist39. 32 Education in Ukraine. Information-analytical Review..., p.55. UNIAN, March 27, 2002. 34 Education in Ukraine. Information-analytical Review..., p.79. 35 Source: Ukraines Statistical Yearbook 2000..., p.470. 36 For instance, while in 1990, extracurricular education involved 6.3 million students, in 2000/2001 7.6 million. The system of extracurricular education employs some 270 thousand pedagogues. See: Education in Russia before 2001 http:/www.ed.gov.ru./koi8/obzor.html. 37 See: The Law of Ukraine On Vocational Education of February 10, 1998, Article 3. 38 The System of Vocational Education. http://www.education.gov.ua. 39 See: The Law of Ukraine On Vocational Education, Article 15. 33 10 l RAZUMKOV CENTRE l NATIONAL SECURITY & DEFENCE l No.4, 2002 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION The bulk of students of vocational schools is made up by young people aged between 15 and 18 who acquire primary professional education. rather a steady growth in admission to vocational schools on the average, by 0.5% annually44. For comparison: in Russia, the number of students of vocational establishments from 1995 annually increases by approximately 4%, and in 1995-2000 increased by 20%, on the whole45. As of the beginning of 2000/2001 academic year, there were 970 vocational schools in Ukraine; 839 of them (86.5%) turned out workers with complete general secondary education40. The system of vocational education provided training in 342 professions encompassing 492 specialities41. One cannot but notice a substantial increase in the rate of employment of graduates of vocational schools (Diagram Employment of graduates of vocational schools). This may be viewed as a proof of the effectiveness of measures taken within the system of education for bringing the list of professions in which training is provided in compliance with the demand of the contemporary labour market. Vocational education establishments of new types included 119 higher vocational schools and centres of vocational education that give high qualification in sophisticated and science-consuming professions; 11 centres of vocational education; three agricultural farm schools. 419 vocational schools provided professional training for unemployed and retraining in worker professions. There are also 70 active scientificindustrial training complexes incorporating vocational schools. Recent years show a steady tendency of increase in the total number and share of orphans and children that require correction of physical and mental development among students of vocational schools. The dynamics of the share and absolute number of such children in The system of vocational education encompassed nearly 530 thousand students, including over 25 thousand unemployed. More than two thirds of students were obtaining complete general secondary education, every second acquired two and more professions42. As is clear from Diagram Vocational educational establishments43, quantitative indicators of the network of vocational education show a noticeable downward tendency. The number of students of vocational schools per 10 thousand of the population in 2000/2001 academic year made up 106, against 125 in 1991/1992. At the same time, since 1995/1996 academic year, there has been a tendency of Vocational educational establishments 648.4 647.2 629.4 Number, units 572.8 1,278 1,282 1,211 1,197 552.5 539.7 1,179 528.1 40 41 42 43 44 45 1992/1993 1993/1994 1994/1995 529.0 527.7 524.4 1,156 1,003 1991/1992 Number of students, ths. 1995/1996 1996/1997 1997/1998 995 1998/1999 995 970 1999/2000 2000/2001 Baranovskyi Î. The Regional Picture of Education in Ukraine. Ukrayinskyi Rehionalnyi Visnyk, November 15, 2001, p.3. The System of Vocational Education. http://www.education.gov.ua. Berezobskyi Yu. [To help] Vocational Education out of the Sidetrack of Humiliation. Osvita, October 24, 2001, p.5. Source: Ukraines Statistical Yearbook 2000..., p.448. With the exception of 1998/1999 academic year. See: ibid.. Education in Russia before 2001 http:/www.ed.gov.ru./koi8/obzor.html. RAZUMKOV CENTRE l NATIONAL SECURITY & DEFENCE l No.4, 2002 l 11 THE SYSTEM OF EDUCATION IN UKRAINE: MAIN INDICATORS educational establishments of the system of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine are presented in Table Share of children that require social assistance among students of vocational educational establishments46. Share of children that require social assistance among students of vocational educational establishments 1991 2000 % ths. % ths. Orphans 0.8 5.4 1.6 8.4 Children from incomplete families 9.9 63.9 13.5 70.4 Children from low-income families 19.0 123.5 31.1 162.6 0.4 2.6 0.7 Children with physical and mental deficiency Total 30.1% 3.7 46.9% Hence, while in 1991, the share of children that require social assistance was less than a third (30.1%), in 2000, they made up almost half (46.9%) of all students of vocational schools. This proves that vocational education increasingly assumes a very important function, in the present situation: primary professional training of teenagers from vulnerable social groups. Human resources As of 2000/2001 academic year, vocational schools employed 52.6 thousand pedagogues, 25.9 thousand of them head foremen and foremen of vocational training47. The years of 1992-1999 brought a noticeable decrease in the number of teachers and foremen in the system of vocational education; as a result, shortage of personnel at the beginning of 2000/2001 made up 10-15% of teachers and 20-30% of vocational training foremen48. The substantial level of shortage of personnel shows that the conditions of labour of pedagogues in the system of vocational education are not very attractive. 1.5 HIGHER EDUCATION The legislation of Ukraine grants citizens the right to obtain higher education, including free education at state and municipal higher educational establishments on a competitive basis, if a person acquires education and qualification of a certain level for the first time49. The legislation does not regiment obligation of higher education for citizens. Higher education is subdivided into grades (basic higher education and complete higher education) and provided by higher educational establishments of the relevant level of accreditation. Higher educational establishments include technical colleges, schools, colleges, institutes, conservatoires, academies, universities. Distribution of higher educational establishments by the level of accreditation and provided educational and qualification is presented at Insert Structure of higher education. Structure of higher education Accreditation levels of higher educational establishments v 1 technical colleges and schools turning out specialists of the junior specialist level of qualification; v 2 colleges and other equated establishments turning out specialists of the bachelor level; v 3 and 4 institutes, conservatories, academies, universities turning out specialists of the bachelor, specialist and master level. Certificates of quality of education services (accreditation certificates) are issued to higher educational establishments for five years, irrespective of the form of ownership. Grade structure of Ukraine's higher education Grades of education Complete higher education Despite some reduction of the network and number of teachers, the system of vocational education in Ukraine shows some positive tendencies, such as increased admission to vocational schools and the increasing rate of employment of graduates. More than a third of students of vocational schools obtain complete secondary education, every second acquires two and more professions. Apart from purely educational functions, vocational education establishments perform social functions very critical today, providing primary professional training and retraining of representatives of vulnerable social groups. Obtained qualification allows increasing their professional mobility and competitiveness on the labour market. At the same time, there is a problem of human resources for the system of vocational education. Basic higher education Higher educational establishments Levels of education and qualification University, academy, conservatory, institute Specialist, master College Bachelor Technical college, school Junior specialist In the current academic year of 2001/2002, there are 983 higher educational establishments of all levels of accreditation and forms of ownership in Ukraine, providing student training at day, evening, correspondence and external departments50. Specialists of the highest qualification are trained in 70 directions encompassing over 500 specialities51. 46 Calculated after: Education in Ukraine. Information-analytical Review..., pp.81-82. Ibid., p.135. 48 On the Results of Work of General Education and Vocational Education Establishments in 2000/2001 Academic Year and Main Tasks for the New Academic Year. Osvita, August 22, 2001, p.4. 49 See: The Law of Ukraine On Higher Education of 17 January, 2002, Article 4. 50 Basic Indicators of Activity of Higher Educational Establishments of Ukraine at the Beginning of 2001/2002 Academic Year. Statistical Bulletin. State Statistic Committee of Ukraine. Kyiv, 2002, p.1. 51 The System of Higher Education in Ukraine. http://www.education.gov.ua:8800/edu/docs/common/higher_educ_ukr.html. 47 12 l RAZUMKOV CENTRE l NATIONAL SECURITY & DEFENCE l No.4, 2002 HIGHER EDUCATION 1.5.1 HIGHER EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENTS OF THE 1st AND 2nd LEVELS OF ACCREDITATION v v Higher educational establishments of the 1st and 2nd levels of accreditation were incorporated into the structure of higher education of Ukraine instead of former specialised secondary educational establishments, in order to bring it in compliance with the structure of education recommended by UNESCO, UN and other international organisations. v v v v v v The network of higher educational establishments of this level of accreditation shows an upward tendency starting from 1999. The sectors of non-state higher educational establishments and paid education at state higher educational establishments are expanding at a high rate. v v v v v The network and number of students v In 2001/2002 academic year, the network of higher educational establishments of the 1st and 2nd levels of accreditation consists of 665 educational establishments: 155 colleges, 304 technical colleges and 206 schools. Educational establishments of all types house 561.3 thousand students52. v v v v Distribution of state higher educational establishments of the 1st and 2nd levels of accreditation by subordination Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine 252 Ministry of Agricultural Policy of Ukraine 97 Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine 100 Ministry of Culture and Arts of Ukraine 59 Ministry of Transport of Ukraine 18 Ministry of Defence of Ukraine 3 Ministry of Social Policy and Labour of Ukraine 3 Ministry of Finance of Ukraine 3 Ministry of Fuel and Energy of Ukraine 1 Ministry of Industrial Policy of Ukraine 1 Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine 4 State Committee of Forestry of Ukraine 8 State Committee of Youth Policy, Sports and Tourism of Ukraine 4 State Committee of Communications and Informatisation of Ukraine 4 Ukrbud Corporation 14 Ukrmistsevprom Concern 2 Ukrsoyuzservice 2 Other 12 State higher educational establishments report to more than 20 central executive bodies and other agencies, which points to a substantial level of decentralisation of management (Insert Distribution of state higher educational establishments of the 1st and 2nd levels of accreditation by subordination55). The number of students per 10 thousand people fell against the 1991/1992 level from 142 to 115. Meanwhile, according to Diagram Higher educational establishments of the 1st and 2nd levels of accreditation53, quantitative indicators of the system of education of that level in recent years have been showing an upward tendency. Non-state higher educational establishments account for only 11.7% of the entire network and cover 9.3% of all students (52 thousand persons). At the same time, the dynamic of growth of the number of non-state higher educational establishments is rather stable: in 1991-2002, it increased more than three-fold from 23 to 78. Distribution of higher educational establishments by the form of ownership54. The overwhelming majority (587 88.3%) of higher educational establishments are state-owned; 90.7% of all students (509,223 persons) study there. Among non-state higher educational establishments, priority belongs to colleges their share makes up 53.8% (42 colleges); almost a third falls on technical colleges (25; 32.1%;); 14.1% on schools (11). The greater share of state higher educational establishments falls on technical colleges 47.5% (279); a third on schools (195; 33.2%); 19.3% on colleges (113). Higher educational establishments of the 1st and 2nd levels of accreditation 977.0 Number, units Number of students, ths. 742 757.0 754 739.2 753 718.8 680.7 790 782 778 754 645.0 617.7 753 660 561.3 528.0 Null data 503.7 Null data 665 664 658 1990/1991 1991/1992 1992/1993 1993/1994 1994/1995 1995/1996 1996/1997 1997/1998 1998/1999 1999/2000 2000/2001 2001/2002 52 Basic Indicators of Activity of Higher Educational Establishments of Ukraine at the Beginning of 2001/2002 Academic Year. Statistical Bulletin. State Statistic Committee of Ukraine, Kyiv, 2002. 53 Sources: Education in Ukraine. Information-analytical Review..., 63; Basic Indicators of Activity of Higher Educational Establishments of Ukraine..., p.1. 54 Cited and calculated after: Education in Ukraine. Information-analytical Review..., 64; Basic Indicators of Activity of Higher Educational Establishments of Ukraine..., p.3. 55 Basic Indicators of Activity of Higher Educational Establishments of Ukraine..., p.7. RAZUMKOV CENTRE l NATIONAL SECURITY & DEFENCE l No.4, 2002 l 13 THE SYSTEM OF EDUCATION IN UKRAINE: MAIN INDICATORS Competition at entrance examinations to higher educational establishments of the 1st and 2nd levels of accreditation is rather low and shows a steady downward tendency. In 1990/1991 academic year it made up, on the average, 1.91 (191 entrants per 100 seats), in 2000/2002 1.3556. Comparatively higher competition (1:1.52) was recorded at institutions that turn out specialists in transport, communication and law57. Distribution of students by the form of study State higher educational establishments Evening 0.7% Day 76.1% It is noteworthy that competition at institutions that turn out educationalists is the lowest (with the exception of institutions preparing specialists for agriculture), and in the past years demonstrated a steady downward tendency. In 1999-2001, it went down as follows: 1.39/1.36/1.2858. Distribution of students by form of study. In 19902001, the sectors of evening and correspondence education significantly shrank. Over that period, the number of evening students fell more than 11 times: while in 1990/1991 academic year, there were 44.9 thousand students of evening departments, in 2000/2002 around 4,000. The number of students who study by correspondence decreased by a third (from 201.4 thousand to 134.5 thousand)59. Correspondingly, the share of evening students in their total number fell from 13.6% to 1.4%; of correspondence students from 71.6% to 24.9% (Table Distribution of 1st year students by the form of study). Distribution of 1st year students by the form of study 1990/1991 Day 2000/2001 2001/2002 ths. % ths. % ths. % 155.8 64.7 141.2 74.3 149.4 74.3 Evening 13.6 5.6 1.4 0.7 1.7 0.8 Correspondence 71.6 29.7 47.5 25.0 50.1 24.9 Total 241.0 ths. 190.1 ths. 201.2 ths. Comparison of the shares of students of different forms of education in state and non-state higher educational establishments shows that non-state higher educational establishments have more correspondence and evening students, which may be caused by the lower cost of study, compared to day education (Diagram Distribution of students by the form of study). Human resources Correspondence 23.2% Non-state higher educational establishments Evening 1.0% Day Correspondence 67.6% 31.4% lecturers). 38.3 thousand of them have higher education; 912 (2.3% of all lecturers of the staff) are candidates of sciences. Hence, the ratio of the number of lecturers on the staff to students makes 1:14.3; which is somewhat higher than at the beginning of 1998/1999 academic year, when that indicator was equal to 1:10.9. Human resources at state higher educational establishments. State higher educational establishments employ 45.4 thousand lecturers (90.3% of their total number); 36.3 thousand (80%) of them on the staff. 35.4 thousand lecturers on the staff (97.5%) have higher education, 535 (1.5%) are candidates of sciences. The ratio between the number of lecturers of the staff and students makes 1:14; at day departments 1:10.7. Human resources at non-state higher educational establishments. Non-state higher educational establishments employ 4,900 lecturers (9.7% of their total number); 2,900 (59.2%) of them on the staff. Actually all lecturers on the staff have higher education; 377 (13%) are candidates of sciences. The ratio between the number of lecturers on the staff and students is higher than at state higher educational establishments and makes 1:17.9; at day departments 1:12. General information. Higher educational establishments of the 1st and 2nd levels of accreditation employ 50.3 thousand lecturers; 48.7 thousand of them have higher education; 2,300 are candidates of sciences60. Language of instruction Meanwhile, the number of lecturers on the staff of higher educational establishments is substantially lower: 39.2 thousand lecturers are on the staff (77.9% of all In 1995-2000, the number of students studying in the Ukrainian language increased from 55% to 80%; in Russian decreased from 45% to 20%. The greatest 56 Ukraines Statistical Yearbook 2000..., p.450; Basic Indicators of Activity of Higher Educational Establishments of Ukraine..., p.32. Basic Indicators of Activity of Higher Educational Establishments of Ukraine at the Beginning of 2001/2002 Academic Year..., p.36. 58 See: Higher Educational Establishments of Ukraine at the Beginning of 1998/1999 Academic Year. Statistical Bulletin. State Statistic Committee, Kyiv, 1999, p.29; Basic Indicators of Activity of Higher Educational Establishments of Ukraine at the Beginning of 1999/2000 Academic Year. Statistical Bulletin. State Statistic Committee, Kyiv, 2000, p.27. Basic Indicators of Activity of Higher Educational Establishments of Ukraine at the Beginning of 2001/2002 Academic Year..., p.31. Statistical Bulletins of the State Statistic Committee of Ukraine Basic Indicators of Activity of Higher Educational Establishments of Ukraine... for 1999-2001. 59 The data hereinafter are cited and calculated after: Ukraines Statistical Yearbook 2000..., p.450; Basic Indicators of Activity of Higher Educational Establishments of Ukraine at the Beginning of 2001/2002 Academic Year..., p.10. 60 The data hereinafter are cited and calculated after: Basic Indicators of Activity of Higher Educational Establishments of Ukraine at the Beginning of 2001/2002 Academic Year..., p.44. 57 14 l RAZUMKOV CENTRE l NATIONAL SECURITY & DEFENCE l No.4, 2002 HIGHER EDUCATION to study in non-state higher educational establishments. In 1999/2000 academic year, 49.3% of all students taught at the expense of departmental funds studied at non-state higher educational establishments; in 2001/2002 65.4%. In 1999/2000, local budgets did not earmark funds for study in non-state higher educational establishments; in 2001/2002, some 1,000 students attended non-state higher educational establishments at the expense of local budgets. share of students receives its education in the Russian language in the following regions: ARC 97.6%; Donetsk region 81.3%; Luhansk 50.7%; Odesa 35.7%; Kharkiv 26.5%; Zaporizhya 23.8%; Dnipropetrovsk 16.3%; Kherson 13.9%. Russianlanguage education is not provided in Volyn, Zhytomyr, Transcarpathian, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kyiv, Lviv, Rivne, Ternopil, Khmelnytskyi, Cherkasy and Chernivtsi regions. Over 200 students in Transcarpathian region study in the Hungarian language; 70 students in Chernivtsi region in Romanian61. This makes 0.05% of all students. By and large, these data show that Ukraine is witnessing the formation of an expanded network of higher educational establishments of the 1st and 2nd levels of accreditation. This process is accompanied with rapid commercialisation of basic higher education. Sources of funding Statistical data of the sources of funding of study in higher educational establishments of the 1st and 2nd levels of accreditation show a steady tendency of reduction of the share of students studying at the expense of state budget, budgets of branch ministries and agencies. Instead, the share of students who receive education at the expense of legal entities and natural persons increases.62 Compared to early 1990s, the sectors of evening and correspondence studies were significantly reduced. Meanwhile, correspondence studies are more spread in non-state higher educational establishments, compared to state-owned. At higher educational establishments, there are many staff and adjunct employees combining jobs; in non-state higher educational establishments their share is higher than in state-owned. Their ratio of lecturers to students is also higher. This process develops rather quickly. As is clear from Table Distribution of students of higher educational establishments of the 1st and 2nd levels of accreditation by sources of funding of education, in the past three years, the rate of increase in the share of students studying at the expense of legal entities and natural persons made up 5% a year, on the average. The sector of education in the Ukrainian language in higher educational establishments of the 1st and 2nd levels of accreditation is greater, compared to the general education network (80% against 70%); by contrast, the sector of education in the languages of national minorities is much smaller (1% against 0.05%). This illustrates introduction of Ukrainian special terminology into basic higher education. Distribution of students of higher educational establishments of the 1st and 2nd levels of accreditation by sources of funding of education, % 1999/2000 2000/2001 2001/2002 State budget 51.3 46.8 42.3 Local budget 11.7 11.1 11.6 1.5 1.1 0.9 35.5 40.0 45.2 Departmental funds Legal entities and natural persons' funds Implications of the restraint of competition at higher educational establishments are uncertain. Inability to select the best-prepared entrants may lead to deterioration of the quality of basic higher education. 1.5.2 HIGHER EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENTS OF THE 3rd AND 4th LEVELS OF ACCREDITATION The share of students of state higher educational establishments studying at the expense of legal entities and natural persons increased form 35.5% in 1999/2000 to 45.2% in the current academic year. Higher educational establishments of the 3rd and 4th levels of accreditation include universities, academies, institutes and conservatories. Meanwhile, the state and local budgets and the budgets of branch ministries and agencies allocate funds Higher educational establishments of the 3rd and 4th levels of accreditation Number, units 274 Number of students, ths. 318 315 313 298 281 255 232 1,548 1,402.9 881.3 876.2 1,109.9 159 158 156 149 855.9 829.9 888.5 922.8 1,210.3 1,285.4 976.9 1990/1991 1991/1992 1992/1993 1993/1994 1994/1995 1995/1996 1996/1997 1997/1998 1998/1999 1999/2000 2000/2001 2001/2002 61 Ibid., p.48. The data hereinafter are cited and calculated after: Higher Educational Establishments of Ukraine at the Beginning of 1998/1999 Academic Year..., pp.43-46; Basic Indicators of Activity of Higher Educational Establishments of Ukraine at the Beginning of 1999/2000 Academic Year..., pp.11-13. Basic Indicators of Activity of Higher Educational Establishments of Ukraine at the Beginning of 2001/2002 Academic Year..., pp.12-13. 62 RAZUMKOV CENTRE l NATIONAL SECURITY & DEFENCE l No.4, 2002 l 15 THE SYSTEM OF EDUCATION IN UKRAINE: MAIN INDICATORS The network and number of students Types of higher educational establishments of the 3rd and 4th levels of accreditation In the current, 2001/2002 academic year, Ukraine has 318 higher educational establishments of the 3rd and 4th levels of accreditation with 1.415 million students. According to Diagram Higher educational establishments of the 3rd and 4th levels of accreditation (p.15), quantitative indicators describing the development of the network and contingent of educational establishments of that level steadily grow. Compared to 1990/1991 academic year, the number of higher educational establishments increased more than two-fold (from 149 to 318), and the number of students almost 1.8 times (from 881.3 thousand to 1.548 million) 63. The rate of growth of the number of students in Ukraine is somewhat lower than in some post-socialist countries. For instance, in Poland, where the number of higher educational establishments is roughly the same (310) as in Ukraine, the number of students in 1990-2000 increased almost four times (Table Number of students of higher educational establishments in Poland and Ukraine64). 114 Universities 970.3 62 331.5 Academies 140 Institutes Conservatories 244.9 2 1.3 Number, units Number of students, ths. establishments of higher accreditation levels falls on state institutions (225). State higher educational establishments include 57 academies, 106 universities, 60 institutes and two conservatories. State higher educational establishments have 1.4021 million students, or Number of students of higher educational establishments in Poland and Ukraine 90.6% of the total number. 1990/1991 1994/1995 1995/1996 1996/1997 1997/1998 1998/1999 1999/2000 2000/2001 Poland 403,800 682,200 794,600 927,500 990,400 1,100,000 1,431,900 1,584,800 Ukraine 829,200 888,500 922,800 976,900 1,109,982 1,210,299 1,285,400 1,402,900 Distribution of higher educational establishments by type. The network of higher educational establishments of higher levels of accreditation is made up of 114 universities; 62 academies; 140 institutes and two conservatories65. 49 higher educational establishments have the status of national66. Nine universities belong to the classic type, i.e., turn out specialists in all basic professional trends. v v v v v v v v v Classical universities of Ukraine Dnipropetrovsk National University Donetsk National University Kyiv National University named after Ò.Shevchenko Lviv National University named after I.Franko Odesa National University named after I.Mechnykov Tavrian National University named after V.Vernadskyi Uzhhorod National University Kharkiv National University named after V.Karazin Chernivtsi National University named after Yu.Fedkovych Distribution of higher educational establishments by type and the number of students is presented on Diagram Types of higher educational establishments of the 3rd and 4th levels of accreditation. The multiplicity of universities in Ukraine, exceeding indicators of some developed countries with an established system of higher education, strikes the eye. For instance, France has 83 universities; Canada 9667. In Poland, where the total number of higher educational establishments is roughly the same as in Ukraine, there are only 15 universities68. Distribution of higher educational establishments by form of ownership. The bulk (70.8%) of higher educational v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v Subordination of state higher educational establishments is decentralised. The Ministry of Distribution of state higher educational establishments of the 3rd and 4th levels of accreditation by subordination Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine 115 Ministry of Education of ARC 2 Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine 4 Ministry of Agricultural Policy of Ukraine 20 Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine 13 Ministry of Economy and European Integration of Ukraine- 1 Ministry of Culture and Arts of Ukraine 9 Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine 15 Ministry of Defence of Ukraine 13 Ministry of Fuel and Energy of Ukraine 1 Ministry of Transport of Ukraine 4 Ministry of Labour and Social Policy of Ukraine 1 Ministry of Finance of Ukraine 3 Security Service of Ukraine 1 State Customs Service of Ukraine 1 State Tax Administration of Ukraine 2 State Committee for Construction, Architecture and Housing Policy of Ukraine 1 State Committee of Communications and Informatisation of Ukraine 2 State Committee of Youth Policy, Sports and Tourism of Ukraine 5 State Committee Border Control of Ukraine 1 National Bank of Ukraine 1 State Committee of Statistics of Ukraine 1 Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine 2 Regional and city state administrations 3 (Dnipropetrovsk and Khmelnytskyi Regional State Administrations; Kyiv City State Administration) Ukrmistsevprom Concern 1 Other 3 63 Cited and calculated after: Education in Ukraine. Information-analytical Review..., pp.63,85; Basic Indicators of Activity of Higher Educational Establishments of Ukraine at the Beginning of 2001/02 Academic Year..., p.1. 64 Sources: Edukacja w Roku Szkolnym 2000/2001. http://www.men.waw.pl; Education in Ukraine. Information-analytical Review..., p.85; 65 Education in Ukraine. Information-analytical Review..., p.62. 66 Kovalenko Î. This Year, there Will Be 10% More First Year Students Who Study at the Public Expense. Abiturient2002, special issue, April, 2002, p.19. 67 The Canadian Education System Is Two Times Cheaper than the U.S.! http://www.profi-club.kiev.ua/cgi/articles..../?catalogue_id=21&article_id=37. 68 Edukacja w roku szkolnym 2000/2001. http://www.men.waw.pl. 16 l RAZUMKOV CENTRE l NATIONAL SECURITY & DEFENCE l No.4, 2002 HIGHER EDUCATION Number of state and non-state higher educational establishments of the 3rd and 4th levels of accreditation, units 220 Non-state-owned State-owned 225 223 93 93 92 78 75 157 156 154 199 191 190 202 64 42 1991/1992 2 2 2 1992/1993 1993/1994 1994/1995 1995/1996 Education and Science of Ukraine controls only 115 (51%) higher educational establishments of the 3rd and 4th accreditation levels (Insert Distribution of state higher educational establishments of the 3rd and 4th levels of accreditation by subordination). Day 2.05 1999 2000 2000/2001 2001/2002 ths. ths. 110.9 12.6 Correspondence 51.0 % 63.6% 219.5 7.2% 2.6 29.2% 124.3 174.5 ths. % % 63.3% 242.5 0.8% 62.7% 2.8 0.7% 35.9% 141.8 36.6% 346.4 ths. 387.1 ths. Hence, comparison of the numbers of students of different forms of study admitted to state and non-state higher educational establishments shows a tendency towards an increase in the share of correspondence students in state and non-state higher educational establishments (Diagram Admission of students of different forms of study to higher educational establishments in 2001 on p.18). Competition at entrance examinations to higher educational establishments of the 3rd and 4th levels of accreditation 1995 1990/1991 ths. Evening Total Distribution of students by the form of study. There is a steady tendency towards a decrease in the number of 1990 2000/2001 2001/2002 Admission to higher educational establishments of the 3rd and 4th levels of accreditation by the form of study Competition at entrance examinations is not tough and, despite the possibility of entering several higher educational establishments at a time, continues to decreases. In 1990, there were 2.05 applicants per seat70, in 2001 1.56 (Diagram Competition at entrance examinations to higher educational establishments of the 3rd and 4th levels of accreditation 71). 1.58 1999/2000 At the same time, the number of correspondence students increases. While in 1990/1991 academic year, correspondence departments had 294.8 thousand students, in 2001/2002 614.9 thousand. Admission of 1st year students of this form of study over that period increased almost three-fold from 51 thousand to 141.8 thousand. The dynamics of admission of 1st year students of different forms of study are presented in Table Admission to higher educational establishments of the 3rd and 4th levels of accreditation by the form of study and show a tendency of the above-average increase in the number of correspondence students. The dynamic of development of state and non-state higher educational establishments shows that after a rapid growth in 1994-1999, the network of both state and non-state higher educational establishments has generally stabilised (Diagram Number of state and nonstate higher educational establishments of the 3rd and 4th levels of accreditation 69). 1.47 1997/1998 evening students. In 1990/1991 academic year, evening departments had 66.5 thousand students, in 2000/2001 only 11.7 thousand. Admission of 1st year students fell more than four times, from 12.6 thousand to 2,800. There are 93 non-state higher educational establishments, which makes 29.2% of their total number. Nonstate higher educational establishments include five academies, eight universities, 80 institutes; they accommodate 145.9 thousand students, or 9.4% of their total number. 1.67 1996/1997 Human resources 1.56 General information. The basic personnel at higher educational establishments of higher levels of accreditation numbers 85.5 thousand lecturers, including: doctors of sciences 7,300 (8.5%), candidates of sciences 40.3 thousand (47.1%); professors 7,000 (8.2%); assistant professors 30.2 thousand (35.3%). Additionally, higher educational establishments employ 19.6 thousand lecturers on the staff combining jobs and 13.2 thousand out-of-staff lecturers - dual jobholders. 2001 69 Sources: Education in Ukraine. Information-analytical Review..., p.64; Basic Indicators of Activity of Higher Educational Establishments of Ukraine at the Beginning of 2001/2002 Academic Year..., p.9. 70 Calculated as the ratio of the number of entrees to the number of seats. 71 Cited and calculated after: Ukraines Statistical Yearbook 2000..., p.450; Basic Indicators of Activity of Higher Educational Establishments of Ukraine at the Beginning of 2001/2002 Academic Year..., p.35. RAZUMKOV CENTRE l NATIONAL SECURITY & DEFENCE l No.4, 2002 l 17 THE SYSTEM OF EDUCATION IN UKRAINE: MAIN INDICATORS The analysis of indicators summed up in Comparative table of human resources of state and non-state higher educational establishments bears witness to the following. The level of provision of state higher educational establishments with basic lecturers is higher. Meanwhile, a higher share of dual jobholders in non-state higher educational establishments conditions higher mobility of their teaching staff. The qualitative composition of the basic personnel of state and non-state higher educational establishments is roughly the same. The ratio between lecturers of different qualification and day students is in favour of non-state higher educational establishments, where it is closer to optimal. Hence, proceeding from the quantitative indicators of human resources, it may be said that state and non-state higher educational establishments can provide an approximately equal quality of education. Admission of students of different forms of study to higher educational establishments in 2001 State-owned Evening — 2,400 0.7% Day — 217.4 ths. Correspondence — 124.9 ths. 63.1% 36.2% Non state-owned Evening — 300 0.7% Correspondence — 16.9 ths. Day — 25.1 ths. 59.3% 40.0% Language of instruction In 1995-200172, the number of students studying in the Ukrainian language increased from 51% to 76.3%; correspondingly, the number of students studying in the Russian language fell from 49% to 23.6%. The Russian language is particularly widespread in higher educational establishments of the following regions: ARC (99.4% of students); Donetsk (76.4%), Luhansk (50.6%), Kherson (35.2%), Dnipropetrovsk (34.7%), Odesa (33.2%), Kharkiv (31.0%), Zaporizhya (26.7%) regions. Russianlanguage education is not provided in higher educational establishments of the Volyn, Transcarpathian, IvanoFrankivsk, Lviv, Rivne and Sumy regions. In Ternopil region, the Russian-language education sector makes up 0.2%; in Chernivtsi region 0.1%. At the beginning of 2001/2002 academic year, more than 900 students in Kyiv and 39 students in Zaporizhya were taught in the English language; and 264 students in Transcarpathian region in Hungarian. The ratio of lecturers of the basic personnel to students makes up 1:18; assistant professors to students 1:51; professors to students 1:222. The dynamics of the ratio of students and lecturers of the highest qualification shows a steady negative tendency: the number of students per professor (assistant professor) on the staff is increasing. In the 1998/1999 academic year, these indicators made up respectively 1:183 and 1:43; in 2000/2001 1:209 and 1:49. Human resources of state and non-state higher educational establishments (comparative description). The basic personnel of state higher educational establishments number 78.2 thousand lecturers (91.4% of the total teaching staff of higher educational establishments); non-state 7,300 lecturers (8.6%). Sources of funding Comparative table of human resources of state and non-state higher educational establishments State-owned Teaching staff % Number, ths. % Basic lecturers 78.2 73.4% 7.3 61.6% Staff dual jobholders 16.1 15.1% 3.5 29.6% Out-of-staff dual jobholders 12.2 11.5% 1.0 8.8% 6.4 8.2% 0.6 8.0% 27.7 35.5% 2.4 33.5% 6.6 8.6% 0.7 9.6% 37.0 47.3% 3.3 45.8% Professor In that: basic lecturers Assistant professor Doctor of science Candidate of science Ratio between basic lecturers and students Non-state-owned Number, ths. Total 1:17 Professors 1:220 In that: day students Assistant 1:51 1:11 1:132 1:31 1:20 1:10 1:250 1:120 1:60 1:30 72 The tendency towards a decrease in the share of students receiving higher education at the expense of budget funds, ministries and agencies is more evident than at the level of basic higher education. While in the current academic year, individuals and legal entities paid for the studies of 45.2% of students of higher educational establishments of the 1st and 2nd levels of accreditation, in educational establishments of higher accreditation levels they made up 55.0%73. The dynamics of student distribution by the sources of funding proves that this tendency will consolidate in the near future (Table Cited after: Basic Indicators of Activity of Higher Educational Establishments of Ukraine at the Beginning of 2001/2002 Academic Year..., p.49. By and large, in 2001/2002 academic year, the state budget covered the cost of study at higher educational establishments of higher accreditation levels for 42.6% of students (against 48.3% in 2000/2001); local budgets 0.8% (against 0.5%); branch ministries and agencies 1.0% (against 1.2%); legal entities and individuals 55.6% (against 50.0%). Calculated after: Basic Indicators of Activity of Higher Educational Establishments of Ukraine at the Beginning of 2001/2002 Academic Year..., p.13. 73 18 l RAZUMKOV CENTRE l NATIONAL SECURITY & DEFENCE l No.4, 2002 EDUCATION IN UKRAINE WITHIN THE INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION COMMUNITY education community. The Strategy of Ukraines Integration into the EU emphasises that Ukraine has potential capabilities to attain substantial success in the sphere of cultural and educational co-operation. In its turn, international community recognises strong educational potential of Ukraine. This is proven by the active development of contacts between Ukraine and foreign partners, performance of joint agreements, programmes and projects in the sphere of education. International agreements. 48 agreements of different levels have been signed with central educational agencies of foreign countries in the sphere of education and 45 in the sphere of science and technology. Agreements on mutual recognition and equivalence of education certificates and scientific degrees are of particular importance for the development of Ukraines international contacts in the sphere of education75. Ukrainian higher educational establishments of the 3rd and 4th levels of accreditation maintain mutually beneficial contacts with over 800 foreign partners76. International academic exchange programmes are underway, for instance, with the USA, under the auspices of American boards of international education: ASTR/ACCELS, International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX), the Kennan Institute, Fulbright Foundation office at the US Embassy in Ukraine77. Every year, some 2,000 Ukrainian citizens undergo complete or fractional training courses abroad under international agreements made between Ukrainian higher educational establishments and foreign partners. They obtain stipends from international foundations under their programmes and projects78. Under the programme of the Fulbright Foundation alone, 160 research fellows underwent traineeship in the USA79. According to the Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine V.Kremen, Ukraine reaps the greatest benefits from co-operation with the EU, UNESCO, United States Information Agency, the British Council, the German Service of Academic Exchanges, the Goethe Institute and Fulbright Foundation annual assistance of those organisations to Ukraines education system exceeds $20 million80. Examples of co-operation with the EU. Since 1993, the Trans-European Programme of Co-operation in the Sphere of Higher Education initiated by the EU has been underway in Ukraine. As of the beginning of 2000/2001, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine implemented 85 international projects with a total value of $20.4 million within the framework of that programme81. The EU TEMPUS educational programme earmarks for Ukraine $5 million in 2002 (in particular, for 10 projects relating to higher education, academic exchanges of professors and re-equipment of lecture rooms at higher educational establishments). Distribution of students of higher educational establishments of the 3rd and 4th levels of accreditation by sources of funding (by the results of admission of 1st year students), % 1998/1999 1999/2000 2001/2002 State budget 51.2 49.5 Local budget 0.5 0.5 0.9 Departmental funds 1.4 1.3 0.8 46.9 48.7 58.4 Legal entities and natural persons funds 39.9 Distribution of students of higher educational establishments of the 3rd and 4th levels of accreditation by sources of funding (by the results of admission of 1st year students)74). The above data prove that Ukraine has formed quite a strong (by quantitative parameters) system of complete higher education. In 1990-2001, the number of students increased 1.8 times, the number of higher educational establishments of all forms of ownership almost doubled. In contrast to the system of basic higher education, there is a steady tendency of above-average growth in the sector of correspondence study. State and non-state higher educational establishments have roughly the same level of human resources. At the same time, it may be said that the teaching staff of nonstate higher educational establishments is more mobile; the ratio between day students and lecturers of all levels of qualification is closer to optimal in non-state higher educational establishments. The share of students who study at the expense of natural persons and legal entities is higher than at the level of basic higher education and is set to further increase. Education is provided mainly in the state language. There is a positive example of due regard of the language interests of Ukrainian citizens of Hungarian origin compactly residing in Transcarpathia. At the same time, given the stabilisation of the number of higher educational establishments of the 3rd and 4th accreditation levels and easing competition at entrance examinations, it may be positively stated that the period of extensive development of educational establishments of higher accreditation levels is over. Their number may further increase but insignificantly. One may expect toughening of competition in the sphere of complete higher education and transition of higher educational establishments to the intensive mode of development. 1.6 EDUCATION IN UKRAINE WITHIN THE INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION COMMUNITY. INTERNATIONAL CONTACTS OF EDUCATION ESTABLISHMENTS One precondition for the development of Ukraines education system is its integration into the international 74 Calculated after: Higher Educational Establishments of Ukraine at the Beginning of 1998/1999 Academic Year..., p.45; Basic Indicators of Activity of Higher Educational Establishments of Ukraine at the Beginning of 1999/2000 Academic Year..., p.13; Basic Indicators of Activity of Higher Educational Establishments of Ukraine at the Beginning of 2001/2002 Academic Year..., p.26. 75 Such agreements were signed with Romania (1995), Estonia (1996), Uzbekistan (1997), Belarus (1998), Hungary (1998), Peoples Republic of China (1998), Slovakia (1999), Azerbaijan (2000), Russia (2000), and Armenia (2001). 76 http://www.lvisti.com/2000/09/02/edu.shtml. 77 The Fate of Intellect: a Few Ways Abroad. Zakhyst, 2001, September-October, p.20. 78 http://www.elvisti.com/2000/09/02/edu.shtml. 79 Taran L. Learn to Win! Zerkalo Nedeli, January 12, 2002, p.12, http://www.mirror.kiev.ua. 80 http://www.edunet.kharkov.ua. 81 http://www.elvisti.com/2000/09/02/edu.shtml. RAZUMKOV CENTRE l NATIONAL SECURITY & DEFENCE l No.4, 2002 l 19 THE SYSTEM OF EDUCATION IN UKRAINE: MAIN INDICATORS At the same time, no funds are earmarked for education of Ukrainian students in universities of EU countries. There is no programme of student exchanges between Ukraine and the EU, since relevant agreements have never been signed. Instances of co-operation with international organisations. In Ukraine, there are 35 UNESCO-associated schools and 11 UNESCO chairs; the projects they perform are dealing with the global problems of the day: steady development, environmental protection, new technologies, demographic problems, human rights, democracy, etc.82 Secretariat of the National Commission of Ukraine for UNESCO Affairs and UNESCO European Higher Education Centre monitor the development of education for foreign students in Ukraine. The International Renaissance Foundation in 19902000 extended over $55 million worth of grants to nongovernmental organisations, educational, enlightened, cultural institutions, artistic collective, publishing houses83. Soros Olympiads are held for pupils, their winners obtain stipends from the Foundation. In turn, UNDP in 2000 commenced projects of strengthening education facilities of the Kyiv National University named after Ò.Shevchenko ($928 thousand) and upgrade of software of the Kyiv International Civil Aviation University ($970 thousand). The assistance of the US National Council on Economic Education allowed translating and issuing methodical manuals for teachers of economics Microeconomics and Macroeconomics; textbooks in economics were created within the framework of a Ukraine-Netherlands project; in business activity under a Ukrainian-English project. A number of international humanitarian assistance programmes are underway. For instance, the Peace Corps library transferred American textbooks to Ukrainian schools and higher educational establishments. Within the framework of humanitarian programmes, Ukrainian educational establishments might find substantial support in computerisation of schools, but transfer of computer hardware is hindered by high import duties84. Examples of co-operation with CIS countries. In 1992, the Eurasian Association of Universities was formed. It united classic-type universities of the member states. Active within the framework of the Association are: the Eurasian Association of University Trade Union Organisations; the Eurasian Student Association; Co-ordination Scientific-Methodical Centre of Museums; Co-ordination Scientific-Methodical Centre of Physical Education Chairs85. Ukrainian educational establishments take part in international associations working on the basis of educational structures of CIS member states. For instance, the Luhansk State Pedagogical University named after Ò.Shevchenko has joined the Moscow International Academy of Pedagogical Education as a collective member and became its regional branch86. Promising inter-university projects in the sphere of scientifictechnical co-operation and creation of joint information systems are being developed. 82 83 84 85 86 Within the framework of the Year of Ukraine in Russia and with the purpose of deepening Ukraine-Russian relations in the sphere of education, heads of a number of secondary educational establishments of Kyiv and Moscow signed bilateral protocols of humanitarian cooperation Kyiv-Moscow: the School Dialogue. Development of international contacts promotes Ukraines integration into the world educational community and introduction of new forms of education. On the eve of large-scale EU enlargement, development of mutually beneficial co-operation on the European direction acquires particular importance. CONCLUSIONS The dry statistical indicators of the state of education in Ukraine illustrate its controversial and uneven development. The system of education in general has demonstrated some positive trends. The share of institutions of new types is increasing, the general level of human resources in the sphere of education remains high. The system of higher education is on the rise, the number of students is increasing, and the forms of ownership and sources of funding of education are being diversified. In parallel with gradual transition to the state language of instruction, language needs of national minorities in the places of their compact residence are taken into account. The system of international co-operation in the sphere of education is developing, as new opportunities appear for obtaining an education abroad. Meanwhile, those positive tendencies are witnessed mainly in two domains: first, where educational services may be not just self-sustained but profitable in higher education and a small sector of general secondary education; second, in the spheres associated with intense foreign assistance and personal enterprise of citizens international exchanges, projects and programmes. There, where educational services are unprofitable and require substantial funds, other tendencies are observed: shrinkage of the network and the lack of personnel that always points to the lack of funds. Beyond doubt, arrival of extra-budgetary funds to the system of education is a positive factor that has helped Ukraines education system, in a period of the crisis of transformation, to maintain its traditionally strong positions. However, those positions were held not least at the expense of lower levels of education preschool, general, extracurricular, vocational. Exactly those initial, basic levels of continuous education have been suffering substantial losses. In several years, the wave of under-funding of education at lower levels will reach higher echelons. In combination with the demographic pit faced by Ukraine, it may bring about substantial negative consequences. These may be prevented through a true change of priorities of the state policy towards education in general and its basic levels in particular. Razumkov Centre experts believe that if, in the next 3-5 years, we do not depart from the principle of last-turn funding of national education, Ukraine may lose its available intellectual, scientific-technical and educational potential and be relegated to the outskirts of global development. n http://www.elvisti.com/2002/02/22/edu.shtml. International Renaissance Foundation... Osvita, June 13, 2001, p.7. Vasyl Kremen: Intellect Is the Greatest Value of a Nation. Zakhyst, 2001, September-October, p.10. Riabokon L. University Standard. May It Be Uniform for the Entire Post-Soviet Space? Den, February 26, 2002, p.5. http://www.elvisti.com/2001/11/13/edu.shtml. 20 l RAZUMKOV CENTRE l NATIONAL SECURITY & DEFENCE l No.4, 2002 2. THE PROBLEMS OF UKRAINE'S EDUCATION SYSTEM T he first priority of any democratic state's education policy lies in the provision of free access by citizens to high quality education. On the other hand, it is the accessibility and quality of education that determine the effectiveness of the national education system and, in the end, the level of the national intellectual potential, quality and professional mobility of labour resources. This section analyses the main indicators that allow for an assessment of Ukraine's education system in terms of education opportunities and their quality. Alongside statistical indicators, the results of the polls conducted by the Razumkov Centre Sociological Service in April-May, 2002 were taken into account87. 2.1 ACCESSIBILITY OF EDUCATION grandchildren of preschool age spoke about the absence of such establishments near his place of residence (Diagram Reasons for non-attendance of preschool educational establishments). This reason was mentioned by 1.0% of city dwellers and 44.3% of villagers polled. The level of accessibility of education is determined by two indicators: physical accessibility of educational establishments and affordability of educational services for the majority of citizens. Hence, almost half of village families that have children of preschool age cannot give them preschool education because of the absence of infant schools. The analysis of those indicators points to the insufficient observance of the civil right to education: villagers are facing substantial limitations in preschool and general secondary education, judging by the indicator of physical accessibility of educational establishments; at higher levels of education, the importance of the financial factor increases. Reasons for non-attendance of preschool educational establishments, % of respondents who have children or grandchildren of preschool age Accessibility of preschool education City Physical accessibility of preschool educational establishments. The reduction of the network of preschool educational establishments mentioned in section 1 has led to limitation of accessibility of preschool education for many Ukrainian children, primarily in rural areas. No possibility to pay No needs, one of the adult family members takes care of the child 20,2% No preschool educational establishments near the place of residence 50,0% As of the beginning of 2000, two thirds of Ukrainian villages had no preschool educational establishments at all. In the late 1990s alone, preschool establishments were closed down in 2,400 villages88. 1,0% Other 28,8% Village In 2000, the general indicator of provision of children with preschool seats was 1:2.4, i.e., one seat in a preschool educational establishment was contested by more than two children. In cities and urban settlements, the relevant indicator was equal to 1:2, in rural areas 1:3.6, which is almost twice lower89. No needs, one of the adult family members takes care of the child No preschool educational establishments near the place of residence 29,5% 44,3% No possibility to pay The inaccessibility of preschool education caused by the absence of infant schools within reach was demonstrated by the results of the Ukraine-wide opinion poll. Every fifth (20.7%) respondent who has children or 14,8% Other 11,4% 87 As part of a project surveying the state of education in Ukraine, Sociological Service of Razumkov Centre conducted a nation-wide poll and polls in four target groups: school pupils, teachers, students and lecturers of pedagogical higher educational establishments. The nation-wide poll was held on April 18-24, 2002, and covered 2,000 citizens aged 18 and above in all Ukraines regions. The target groups were polled between April 22 and May 8, 2002; 1,200 pupils of the ninth and the eleventh classes, 300 teachers of secondary schools; 1,200 students of the first and the last years of study and 300 lecturers of pedagogical universities of Ukraine were questioned. Unless specified otherwise, cited hereinafter are the results of those surveys. 88 According to S.Nikolayenko, Secretary of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Science and Education Committee. See: Nikolayenko S. Ukraines Revival Will Begin from the Village. Tovarysh, No.2, January, 2002, p.2. 89 Calculated after: Ukraines Statistical Yearbook 2000..., p.444; Gender and Age Structure of Ukraines Population. State Statistic Committee of Ukraine. Kyiv, 2001, pp.26-271. RAZUMKOV CENTRE l NATIONAL SECURITY & DEFENCE l No.4, 2002 l 21 THE PROBLEMS OF UKRAINE'S EDUCATION SYSTEM Apart from the absence of infant schools, the accessibility of preschool education is seriously affected by the following factors. v Temporary suspension of operation of preschool establishments: in 1998, some 2,000 infant schools suspended operation, in 1999 2,600. Then, N.Karpachova, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Human Rights Commissioner termed such practice as violation of the right of children to preschool education90. Nevertheless, in 2000, some 3,200 infant schools were non-operational91. v Inability of preschool establishments to operate year round: in 2000, almost 7,000 preschools were working only part of the year, almost 3,000 of them because of the absence or lack of funds for maintenance; over 1,400 due to the lack of fuel; 852 of electricity, and 433 of running water92. Therefore, the accessibility of preschool education is seriously hindered by the insufficient network of infant schools, forced suspension of their operation and absence or lack of funds for maintenance of the existing establishments. Financial affordability. According to the sociological survey results, almost 18% of citizens who have children or grandchildren of preschool age cannot pay for their stay in infant schools. This reason of inaccessibility of preschool education is more characteristic of urban than rural areas: the lack of funds was reported by 20.2% of the polled city dwellers and 14.8% of villagers93. Therefore, every fifth family in town and every seventh in the country that has children of preschool age cannot give their children preschool education because of the lack of funds. General secondary education Physical accessibility of educational establishments. The data cited in the previous section prove that Ukraine has an extended network of general education establishments. At the same time, there is a noticeable imbalance in the density of schools in urban and rural areas, which leads to inequality in the access of city and village children to general secondary education. Accessibility of general education establishments in rural areas. As of the beginning of 2000/2001 academic year, 52% of villages had general education schools. There were no schools in 1,300 villages that had more than 50 children of school age each94. Due to the absence of secondary education establishments, 38% of village pupils cannot continue education in the 10th form at their place of residence95. Almost a quarter of a million (247.4 thousand) village pupils (11.4% of their total number) live beyond walking range of a school. Meanwhile, the network of boarding institutions attached to schools is decaying; over the recent five years, it has been reduced almost two-fold96. Therefore, for more than one in nine village children, accessibility of general secondary education is limited. Financial affordability of general secondary education. Given the dominance of state (public) schools in the system of general education, the financial factor is decisive, first of all, for the parents choice between a state and a private school. According to the poll, approximately half (50.9%) of respondents who have children of preschool age and intend to send them to a state school explained their choice by an inability to pay for their study in a private school (Diagram Factors of choice between a state and a private school). Factors of choice between a state and a private school, % of respondents who have children of preschool age To which school (state or private) are you planning to send your child? Why are you planning to send your child to a state school? To a private school 8.0% To a state school No possibility to pay for the study in a private school 76.6% 50.9% I believe that a state school provides not worse education than a private one 24.1% No private school near the place of residence Hard to say 22.2% 15.4% Other 2.2% Hard to say 0.6% 90 The State of Observance and Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms in Ukraine. First Annual Report of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Human Rights Commissioner. Kyiv, 2000, p.297. 91 Ukraines Statistical Yearbook 2000..., p.448. 92 Permanent Preschool Educational Establishments in Ukraine in 2000. Statistical Bulletin. State Statistic Committee of Ukraine, Kyiv, 2001, p.22. 93 The obtained data do not mean that villagers have fewer financial problems. First of all, the fee for the stay of a child in a preschool establishment in rural areas is lower than in towns; second, practice shows that village families partially provide preschool establishments with foodstuffs thus contributing part of the fee in kind. 94 According to Minister of Education and Science V.Kremen. See: Polushkina V. Computerised Class as a Dream. Kievskie Vedomosti, September 1, 2001, p.4. 95 Nikolayenko S. Ukraines Revival Will Begin From the Village..., p.2. 96 On the Results of Work of General Education and Vocational Education Establishments in 2000/2001 Academic Year and Main Tasks for the New Academic Year. Osvita, August 22, 2001, p.4. 22 l RAZUMKOV CENTRE l NATIONAL SECURITY & DEFENCE l No.4, 2002 EXPERTS OPINION ON THE PROBLEMS OF EDUCATION It is high time to take measures for turning education and scientific research in Ukraine into export merchandise. We have in mind the creation of a programme of internationalising Ukraine as a place for educating foreign students. To be sure, export of education through internationalisation of Ukrainian educational establishments as not a matter of one day or one year, but the course of Ukraine towards accession to the European Union requires special attention of the state to that promising, as the German experience proves, programme of export of educational and scientific proposals. POINT OF VIEW 1. What are the main problems of Ukraines education system? The exceedingly slow process of formation of an information technology society in Ukraine, resulting in the countrys unreadiness to compete on the international arena in the 21st century, is a source of great concern. Ukraines potential in such a competition will be determined by the educational level of the Mykola ZHULYNSKY, nation, its capacity for self-realisation, first of Director, all, through the development of advanced techInstitute of Literature nologies. The use of our competitive advannamed after tages is hindered by the following factors: T.Shevchenko, v chronic and already traditional underAcademician funding of the system of education; of the NAS of Ukraine v the lag in mass introduction of computer and information technologies; v slow modernisation of education, particularly, of improvement of the quality of teaching and accessibility of education for the entire population of Ukraine; v the low public status of teachers and lecturers combined with the professional unreadiness of many educationalists to work in the conditions of an information society; v the extremely perverted, distorted in an information sense national cultural space not dominated by national spiritual and moral values and priorities. POINT OF VIEW 1. What are the main problems of Ukraines education system? The problem of human resources, in the first place. Although in the recent years quite a lot has been done to improve the material standing of Ukrainian pedagogues, pedagogical higher educational establishments are not popular among the best graduates of secondary schools. And mediocre graduates can Vasyl KREMEN, hardly be made best pedagogues. The problem of relations between a lecMinister of Education and Science of Ukraine turer and a student. Today, they bear a subject-object character, and our pedagogy is largely authoritarian. This problem has its historic roots. For centuries, we have had no due respect in society for an individual. Even today, in many families parents are trying to fit a child to the norm disregarding his or her wishes and capabilities. The problem of computerisation and informatisaton. One of the main deficiencies of work of higher educational establishments lies in poor individualisation of the educational process and limited possibilities for individual student work. Our educationalists are to a large extent closed within the national educational community. Another great shortcoming of higher school is that despite a significant increase in the number of students per 10 thousand citizens (314 against 176 in 1986), this indicator remains almost two times lower than, say, in Canada. 2. What priority measures should be taken for the solution of those problems? Will the National Doctrine of Education Development help their solution? The following measures need to be taken as soon as possible. v First and foremost, establishment of and (guaranteed) legislative support for the principles of priority of education, specifically: the priority and dynamic growth of funding of education and salaries of educationalists. v Development and approval of a programme of a Ukraine-wide extended educational database based on comprehensive education methods, new qualitative technologies of education and upbringing. v Fundamental change of the methods of training specialists in the sphere of education to be based on the desire and necessity of permanent self-education. For that purpose, more variable curricula and training programmes should be worked out, and the existing systems of assessment of knowledge, encouragement of pupils and students should be reviewed. v Dynamic approach of the system of educational services closer to people, their place of residence and work with the assistance of distance education technologies, integration of the national education system into the world educational information system with the assistance of global information networks, to provide access to foreign educational centres and education programmes for Ukrainian citizens. v Maybe the most important thing decisive for the sphere of education: formation of consolidated democratic society that recognises education as a basic component of the political, socio-economic, cultural and scientific organisation and sees its strategic goal in creation of an effective continuous education system as a precondition of social and professional mobility of population, all-round development of individual, upbringing of patriotism. The National Doctrine of Education Development adopted at the Second All-Ukrainian Congress of Educationalists generally corresponds to the strategy of development of Ukraine in the 21st century as an information technology state, but where are the guarantees of its implementation, first of all financial? 2. What priority measures should be taken for the solution of those problems? Will the National Doctrine of Education Development help their solution? The National Doctrine of Education Development sets the strategic targets of development of Ukraines education system. To be sure, its adoption is a great success. It allows further work, analysis of events and trends in the world education community, adaptation of those trends to Ukrainian realities, definition of the guidelines of educational activity. The National Doctrine creates preconditions for a consistent educational policy, promotes the prestige of education in Ukraine. The priority measures should be aimed at work with a teacher, since no serious changes may be attained unless they are elaborated and realised by the teacher. The mystery of cognition and teaching is born through joint efforts of the teacher and the student. Training of future teachers should be improved, todays teachers should be helped to keep up with the times: this concerns computer literacy and the teachers ability to work with account of the character of a student. Graduates of pedagogical higher educational establishments should be fluent in foreign languages not as much for their teaching as to be able to go beyond the borders of the national education community. This goal should be attained through courses of retraining and conversion of existing specialists. Higher educational establishments should be provided with computers; new software should be developed. We should amend the system of education so as to retain our best traditions and knowledge, but, at the same time, to allow future generations of Ukrainian citizens drop the anachronisms inherent in our generation. 3. What foreign experience might be useful and acceptable for Ukraine? By and large, the National Doctrine of Education Development takes maximum account of advanced foreign experience, in particular, introduction of the innovative and humanistic type of education, the multicomponent content of education encompassing knowledge, methods of practical activity and formation of value orientations and a creative approach to the mastering of knowledge alike, in particular, the ability to obtain knowledge independently from various sources of information and introduction of remote education... RAZUMKOV CENTRE 3. What foreign experience might be useful and acceptable for Ukraine? The processes of globalisation observed worldwide bring the character and substance of education in difference countries closer the European and world education communities are being formed. Foreign experience should be introduced so as to preserve all advantages of the national education system and to make it an integral part of the world education community. This would promote the competitiveness of Ukrainian graduates. l NATIONAL SECURITY & DEFENCE l No.4, 2002 l 23 EXPERTS OPINION ON THE PROBLEMS OF EDUCATION The experience of democratisation of the educational process abroad, attainment of independence of its participants and easing the load on lecturers is extremely useful. However, before following the world pattern, we should prepare the basis for the independent work. It would be desirable to have the material and technical basis on a par with the best foreign higher educational establishments, at least to enable professors to deliver their lectures in printed form instead of reading and taking notes, and read a synoptic lecture after the students familiarise themselves with the materials. POINT OF VIEW 1. What are the main problems of Ukraines education system? The Socialists faction considers that education in Ukraine is in deep crisis now. The main problem is alienation of educational system from the economic development and labour markets. Bit by bit education is becoming the self-sufficient branch, so called thing in itself. Development of new economic segments, espeStanislav cially in agricultural sector, is in isolation from NIKOLAYENKO, educational process. First Deputy The Cabinet of Ministers, ministries and of the Head of SPU departments have no impact on these processfaction in the Verkhovna es. The Ministry of Economy and European Rada of Ukraine. Integration, the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, businessmen and trade unions act separately, economy development prospects are not defined, appropriate manpower accompaniment for market reform is not forecasted. For example, there is a great amount of unemployed economists and lawyers, who had been educated during the years of independence with simultaneous reduction of technical workers and engineers training. These entire things take place against a background of sweeping development of science and machinery, wide spread of informational technologies, green revolution in agriculture. Senseless commercialisation affects the development of educational system greatly. In the considerable number of schools, especially in rural area, pupils are unable to get general secondary education due to the poor local budgets that finance only state obligatory programs and optional part of a curriculum is paid. This contradicts the Article 53 of the Constitution of Ukraine, the Law of Ukraine On Education. As a result, many pupils do not study foreign languages, Russian language and computer literacy fundamentals. Because of humiliatingly low salaries, the heads of educational institutions and teachers initiate the spread of so-called paid services. Hence some children can not obtain necessary skills and knowledge at school because of lack of money. Prevalence of elite clannish education leads to the shallowing of the river of knowledge and intensifies the social tension. Vocational education remains without attention on the part of the state. Domestic sphere of high technologies without skilled specialists is doomed to stagnation. The Government owes more than UAH 60 million to vocational schools for heating, running water and electricity. Vocational schools have practically stopped the educational process. The level of material and technical basis of educational process in vocational schools remained as it was in 70-80s. Dramatic growth of commercialisation in higher educational establishments, low wages of scientific and pedagogical staff led to significant deformation of educational process. Bribes and extortions became a rule for many establishments. Absence of democratic standards in higher educational establishments leads to standstill of personnel, non-appropriate financing to lag of scientific and technical level of education of specialists. 2. What priority measures should be taken for the solution of those problems? SPU faction prepared and submitted the Program Seven Steps to Lead Education out of the Crisis, which proposes comprehensive measures of domestic education rescue, for a consideration of Parliament. SPU faction also prepares alterations to such laws as On Vocational Education and On General Secondary Education concerning improvement of education. In addition, draft-law On Social Protection of Students and corresponding proposals for budget-2003 are elaborated. 24 l RAZUMKOV CENTRE l POINT OF VIEW 1. What are the main problems of Ukraines education system? Major problems in the Ukrainian education system are many, and the majority of them are closely interrelated. Hence, in my opinion, they should be viewed in conjunction. Otherwise things will stay right where they are started. For instance, if schools do not have up-to-date facilities training aids, computBoris PATON, ers, stable textbooks one should not hope President, that even the best teachers will help in attainthe National Academy ment of the goal set by the National Doctrine of Science of Ukraine, of Education Development. This is fully true Academician for higher educational establishments as well. of the NAS of Ukraine As for the problems immediately dealing with the urgently needed increase in the effectiveness of the system of education, one should be aware that science and education are to play the key role for Ukraine not to turn into a supplier of low-tech products and consumer of foreign high technologies in the process of globalisation. This requires removal of serious deficiencies in teaching natural sciences at secondary school and overcoming of decline of pupils interest in such disciplines as mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology. For that purpose, ties between science and education should be strengthened, scholars should be more actively employed for lecturing at higher educational establishments, and students, starting from the first year, involved in both fundamental and applied scientific research. Under no circumstances may such absolutely baseless experiments as reduction of hours allocated to the school course of physics or withdrawal of astronomy and drawing from school programmes be undertaken. The time reserve necessary for better mastering of other subjects should be found not in such reduction but in radical improvement of the methods of teaching and raising the skills of teachers. 2. What priority measures should be taken for the solution of those problems? Will the National Doctrine of Education Development help their solution? The National Doctrine of Education Development, surely, should encourage modernisation of education. For that purpose, broad public discussion should be continued, not only among pedagogues but among scientists, too, proposals and suggestions should be thoroughly considered, highly qualified expert examination is needed. And nothing should be done in a hurry. If necessary, experiments may be conducted in separate schools and higher educational establishments but not on the national scale. Education is too important and delicate subject. Poor substantiation and haste in its reform may bring similar or even graver consequences as in the economy. 3. What foreign experience might be useful and acceptable for Ukraine? To be sure, advanced foreign experience should be studied and adapted to our conditions. At the same time, one should not ignore own positive experience acquired long ago and recently. One should not forget that for decades, the national system of secondary and higher education has been a model for the developed countries. For instance, this relates to training of specialists in natural and technical sciences. Our engineers, mathematicians, physicists, chemists, biologists, programmers who left the country in most cases successfully compete with foreign colleagues. The system of education should be aimed not at narrow specialisation but at a high level of education and creative thought. Outstanding native pedagogues, such as À.Makarenko, V.Sukhomlynskyi and others, were well aware of that. This principle forms the basis for training highly qualified specialists at the National University named after T. Shevchenko, the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute National Technical University, the National Aviation University and some other higher educational establishments. By the way, such a system of training physicists, mathematicians, engineers is based on principles employed at some KPI departments yet before the Revolution [of 1917 ed.] . With time, those principles were implemented in the Paris Polytechnic School, California and Massachusetts Technological Institutes, and later in the Moscow Physico-Technical Institute. NATIONAL SECURITY & DEFENCE l No.4, 2002 EXPERTS OPINION ON THE PROBLEMS OF EDUCATION Let me recall the basic principles of the physico-technical education system: (1) sound study of fundamental sciences (physics, mathematics, chemistry, etc.); (2) conjunction of broad general education in the best university traditions with narrow specialisation and acquisition of practical skills at basic institutes of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and graduating chairs; (3) intense study of foreign languages; (4) flexibility of educational plans; (5) broad involvement of students into research and scientific activity; (6) participation of scholars from the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in the educational process. Those principles proved totally justified and should be spread and furthered. POINT OF VIEW What are the main problems of Ukraine's education system? The problem of human resources. Due to low salaries and poor prestige of the profession of a teacher, increasingly more graduates of higher pedagogical establishments do not come to school, working instead in other branches, and sometimes filling up the ranks of unemployed. In that way, the corps of Oleksiy SHUBA, teachers is ageing, the share of pensioners Deputy Head teaching at school increases. To be sure, such of the Humanitarian a situation cannot be assumed normal. Department The problem of guarantees of free educaof the Verkhovna Rada tion at state and municipal educational estabof Ukraine Staff lishments. Parents know how often this constitutional provision is violated. Endless contributions for school guards, classroom repair, etc. have long become a norm. In some lyceums and schools, parents are forced to pay for the studies of their children under the disguise of voluntary charity contribution sometimes spent not only on acquisition of necessary training aids but used to satisfy the excessive appetites of the leadership of those establishments. To be sure, all this undermines the authority of the teacher and education in general, let alone specific speculation and abuses on this ground. The problem of continuity of the substance of education, poor juncture of programmes of preschool education with those of general secondary and higher education. Such a gap is filled with various additional educational services and private teaching paid by parents. POINT OF VIEW 1. What are the main problems of Ukraines education system? The main problems of the Ukraines education system encompass: v the substance of education, i.e., the concrete and clear definition of the scope of knowledge in the areas of social studies, natural studies, culture, arts, medicine, agriculture and law that needs to be adopted by every pupil Kostyantyn SYTNYK, of the Ukrainian school (as an imperative of Director, society represented by scholars and lead pubInstitute of Botany lic figures); named after M.Holodnyi, v quality of education, working conditions Academician and remuneration of labour of teachers. of the NAS of Ukraine Society and the authorities must realise that the profession of Teacher in Ukraine should be the most respected, attractive and well paid; a farmer, a metalworker, an engineer, a doctor, a singer, a manager, a nurse, a salesman, etc. are all formed by the school, its teachers and their professional skill to teach and bring up a Human; v funding education needs in the amount long ago specified by the Law of Ukraine "On Education". POINT OF VIEW 1. What are the main problems of Ukraines education system? The main problem of education in Ukraine lies in the many years its importance was underestimated by the legislative and executive branches of the State, as manifested by insufficient funding. This has resulted in the loss of purity of the principles of education. The main problems of the Ukraines system of education Ihor YUKHNOVSKYI, include: Academician v creation of uniform state standards for of the NAS of Ukraine education content; v formation of the basic language environment in Ukrainian education on the basis of the official Ukrainian language; general adoption of the English language as the language of universal business communication and information systems; study of the Russian language as a language of international communication; study of native languages in accordance with European standards; v development and implementation of state programmes of civic education, patriotic upbringing and education for democratic society; v identification of the demand for specialists on the labour market; v identification of the volume of orders for vocational and higher education specialists in all sectors of nation-building in Ukraine; v provision of legal multi-channel funding of education. 2. What priority measures should be taken for the solution of those problems? Will the National Doctrine of Education Development help their solution? For the solution of the above mentioned problems, the following must be done: v the best rectors of higher educational establishments of the country should be put at the head of pedagogical universities; v scholarships for students of pedagogical universities should be twice higher than at any other higher educational establishments; v the best specialists with university education should be invited to work at schools with salaries of no less than $300; v the salaries of lecturers of pedagogical universities should be 30% higher than at other higher educational establishments; v during admission of new students to pedagogical universities, recommendations of school pedagogical boards should be taken into account; v the Oath of the President of Ukraine should contain the words of care about the young generation, school and Teacher. The National Doctrine of Education Development might have promoted intellectual enrichment of some officials of the Ministry of Education and Science and the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of Ukraine but failed to do any good to the reform of the system of education. The laws on education and science adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine played a far greater role in the establishment of the new school. 2. What priority measures should be taken for the solution of those problems? Will the National Doctrine of Education Development help their solution? The baseline provisions of the National Doctrine of Education Development largely repeat the provisions of the laws of Ukraine. Regrettably, many of them, for a variety of reasons, continue to be unfulfilled. This particularly refers to the issues of funding of education, salaries for teachers and pedagogical scientists, social security of pedagogues, especially in rural areas, etc. The priority tasks of the state in the sphere of education include: v pay raises for teachers and pedagogical professionals; 3. What foreign experience might be useful and acceptable for Ukraine? The system of education and the attitude to the Teacher in Ukraine on the part of entire society and the authorities should be based on the pattern of the German education system whose substance and forms were laid down yet by Bismarck and on the best experience of the Soviet school system. RAZUMKOV CENTRE l NATIONAL SECURITY & DEFENCE l No.4, 2002 l 25 EXPERTS OPINION ON THE PROBLEMS OF EDUCATION v complete provision of all schools and kindergartens, school and university students with Ukrainian language textbooks, scientific, methodical and popular literature; v gradual complete modernisation of laboratories at schools and higher educational establishments; v localisation (Ukrainianisation) of educational software in Ukraine; v formalising standards of statehood in the educational process at kindergartens, schools and higher educational establishments. 3. What foreign experience might be useful and acceptable for Ukraine? The legislation of Ukraine on education was formed with account of this countrys historical traditions and on the basis of study of educational legislation of other countries, such as Russia, Belarus, France, Germany, Poland, Great Britain, the USA and others. Laws were drafted with account of conclusions and proposals made by Council of Europe experts. POINT OF VIEW 1. What are the main problems of Ukraines education system? Before answering the question about the main problems of the Ukraines system of education (general and higher), the main tasks of education in Ukraine should be identified with account of formation of the new doctrine of education under conditions of a universal informational revolution. By its substance and moral Yaroslav YATSKIV, status, the system of education in Ukraine does Director, not meet the imperative of the time formaMain Astronomical tion of a new patriotic generation of the Observatory Ukrainian nation (in the broad meaning of the of the NAS of Ukraine, word Ukrainians, Russians, Jews, Germans, Academician etc., who defend the interests of the independof the NAS of Ukraine ent and sovereign Ukrainian state) living according to the principle: The common good should have absolute preference over the personal one. The problems: v increasing formalism and corruption of education, chase of outward image and quantitative indicators (the wave of foundation of colleges, At the same time, the spread of such phenomena as child labour and/or homelessness gives reason to state that the financial factor presently plays an important role in the affordability of general secondary education within the state system of general education. Child labour97 was officially admitted in the 1997 state report on the status of children. It stated that in Ukraine, some 700 thousand children under 15 years were working; there are families where a child is the sole breadwinner98. At the beginning of 2001/2002 academic year, a number of inspections were held that revealed facts of employment of child labour at enterprises of different forms of ownership; it appeared that mainly teenagers of 15-17 years from low-income families with many children lyceums, universities made us the European leader by this indicator, while the level of education goes down); v ruination of the high ideals of teaching and the school dominated by high spirit and morality (what ideals may we speak about when a teacher takes brines at examinations?); v deterioration of substantial (qualitative) indicators of education and neglect of ideological aspects of teaching; the departure from the Soviet educational doctrine (on the one hand, formation of an atheist, internationalist, bearer of the class morality, on the other a qualified specialist capable of resolving scientific and technological problems of the militaryindustrial complex) goes on very slowly. 2. What priority measures should be taken for the solution of those problems? Will the National Doctrine of Education Development help their solution? The reform of education is not a one-time act but a very complex and lengthy process. For its implementation, the society, presently pathologically ill, hit by devaluation of knowledge, human dignity and simply lacking honest people, must be prepared on a par with the authorities (we all see what miserable funds are spent on education) and the top of the educational community. The National Doctrine of Education Development is indeed an important document that should exist in a state. First and foremost, the National Doctrine must be aimed at formation of humanistic principles of the world outlook, progressive ideology and moral and ethical fundamentals of life. Measures, acts, reforms are of a secondary significance. In the present situation, the most important thing is to find means for the removal of all forms of corruption and bribery at educational establishments (for instance, it may be practical to form an effective corps of educated and decent inspectors) and to establish co-operation between leaders of state educational bodies and public organisations active in the sphere of education. 3. What foreign experience might be useful and acceptable for Ukraine? Our native school (education system) has had brilliant achievements and results. They should be put into life. To be sure, foreign experience also needs to be examined, and everything useful should be introduced in Ukraine. In my opinion, Ukraine would benefit from the development of small classes with few pupils; unity of higher education and science; liquidation of the Soviet system of awarding degrees and ranks; increase in the influence of the public on the process of school education. were working99. An inspection in Luhansk region revealed that 1,255 children and teenagers were not attending school. According to the Service for Minors Affairs, in many cases the reason for interruption of the educational process lies in the low standard of living of families and the desire of teenagers to earn money on their own 100. Child homelessness is spreading at rather a high rate: in 1996, there were 12 thousand registered homeless children; in 2000 some 30 thousand101. Those children are actually deprived of the possibility to obtain a systematic education. Therefore, we note the tendencies towards limitation of physical accessibility and financial affordability of the state system of general secondary education, first of all for children living in rural areas and low-income families. 97 For more detail see an article by L.Volynets Some Aspects of Child Labour in Ukraine published in this magazine. According to the State Statistic Committee of Ukraine. See: Yushkevych À. Unemployment Does not Threaten Ukrainian Children. Polityka i Kultura, 1999, No.3, p.28. Experts believe that Ukraine undergoes not the so-called U.S. but the Philippine type of child perquisite, when children have to earn their living at any cost. Out of 287 polled employed children, only 30 were engaged in brainwork, 203 in physical labour. 99 The inspection was held by state power and local self-administration bodies jointly with representatives of regional trade unions. 2,615 enterprises were inspected. http://www.elvisti.com/2002/07/18/edu.shtml. 100 Study Is Light, But No Money in Sight. Holos Ukrayiny, October 3, 2001, p.3. 101 Unnecessary Children. Polityka i Kultura, 2000, No.3, p.28. 98 26 l RAZUMKOV CENTRE l NATIONAL SECURITY & DEFENCE l No.4, 2002 ACCESSIBILITY OF EDUCATION On the face of it, the situation seems to be entirely in line with world standards: there is a market of educational services of different prices where everyone can buy anything depending on his solvency. The cost of study at an average U.S. higher educational establishment is $12-14 thousand, which corresponds to 5-6 average U.S. monthly salaries106. In Ukraine, the average monthly pay in February-March, 2002 made up UAH 342107. Hence, the cost of study of UAH 2,500 corresponds to seven average Ukrainian monthly salaries, which is close to the U.S. standard. With the exception of one feature, namely, that the average pay in Ukraine is below the subsistence level of a working person established equal to UAH 365 in 2002108. Apart from the cost of study, students (their parents) must also pay for the meals and hostel habitation, buy textbooks, stationery, etc. In the aggregate, such additional expenses are comparable with the cost of study in a higher educational establishment cited above. Therefore, the problem lies not in paid education and its spread but in the compatibility of the average cost of education services to average wages and salaries. In the Ukrainian situation, introduction of paid education should have been accompanied with simultaneous introduction of credits, grants and other forms of encouragement of higher education for the youth. However, this is not the case. Crediting of education in the amount of UAH 5 million introduced from 1999/2000 academic year has not yet had any noticeable effect on the situation. In the current year, 2,000 students approximately 1% of those admitted to day departments obtained loans109. The practice of grant-giving remains limited110. Accessibility of secondary education for children with special needs Child disablement, even on the background of falling natality rate, shows a strong upward trend. In 2000, some 110 thousand disabled children of school age were registered by social security bodies. At the same time, according to the Ukrainian Step by Step Foundation, the share of unregistered children with development deviations increases102. The overwhelming majority of children of that category receives education at special boarding schools and special classes of general education establishments103. There is no realistic alternative to study in the conditions of special schools, since the existing general system of educational establishments is in no way fit to integrate children with special needs. There is an acute problem of provision of handicapped children with necessary training aids, which actually deprives them of the possibility to receive education. At the same time, there is no public statistical data on the children of that category that have no opportunity of getting education. The First Annual Report of N.Karpachova, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Human Rights Commissioner noted that in 1999, more than 10 thousand children of school age suffering from cerebral palsy could not attend special institutions because of the absence of transportation means; only 15% of children with hearing dysfunction were provided with hearing aids; pupils with dysfunction of intellect, hearing and sight were provided with special means only at 30% of the need104. Hence, from the point of view of both the choice of the educational establishment and the possibility of obtaining quality education, children with special needs are discriminated. Such a situation is not least conditioned by the absence of the definition of the notion of children with special needs in Ukraines legislation, including legislation on education. The influence of limiting factors leads to the emergence of a group of children and teenagers of the school age left beyond the system of education and pressed out to the zone of increased social risks. The group of children with special needs is discriminated. Judging by the draft Forecast of Economic and Social Development of Ukraine for 2003, in the next academic year, the situation will not change fundamentally: it is planned to increase education credits to UAH 15 million, but this process will go together with the expansion of paid education within the system of higher education111. Higher education At the level of higher education, physical accessibility of educational establishments does not play any special role because of higher mobility of students and relative sufficiency of the network of educational establishments. At the same time, the financial factor acquires particular importance. The cost of study in a higher educational establishment depends, first of all, on the prestige associated with the location of a higher educational establishment and the speciality and varies significantly: from UAH 16,230 ($3,000) a year in the Institute of International Relations at the Kyiv State University named after Ò. Shevchenko to some UAH 2,500 ($470), at, for example, the Department of Natural Studies of the Donetsk State University and the Department of Economics of the Lviv Polytechnic University105. Therefore, as the result of the low standard of living and the inability of the state to properly respond to the increasing gap between educational needs and the financial possibilities of citizens, Ukraine is witnessing a consolidated tendency of limitation of accessibility of higher education not only in state-owned but also in non-state higher educational establishments. By and large, the tendencies of limitation of physical accessibility and affordability of the system of state educational establishments are endemic to Ukraine. At higher levels of education, the importance of the financial factor increases. Those tendencies affect two social groups most deleteriously of all: village youth and young people from low-income families. 102 Steps towards a Democratic Education. Magazine of the Ukrainian Step by Step Foundation, special issue, February, 2002, p.4. For more details about the problems of education of children with special needs see an article by N.Sofiy Education of Children with Special Needs published in this magazine. 104 The State of Observance of Human Rights and Freedoms in Ukraine..., p.298. 105 See: The Cost of Study at Some Higher Educational Establishments for Contracted Students. Delovaya Stolitsa, May 13, 2002, p.27. 106 See: Starozhytska Ì. Master-in-law. Kievskiy Telegraf, January 28, 2002, p.7. 107 Statistical Bulletin for January-March, 2002. State Statistic Committee of Ukraine, Kyiv, 2002, p.124. 108 The Law of Ukraine On Approval of the Subsistence Level for 2002 of November 15, 2001. 109 Calculated after: Basic Indicators of Activity of Higher Educational Establishments of Ukraine at the Beginning of 2001/2002 Academic Year..., p.21. 110 One exception is presented by the Ukraine 21st Century Intellectual Co-operation Foundation that in 2001/2002 academic year extended education grants to 89 university entrants winners of the All-Ukrainian Universiada Intellectual of the 21st Century. See: Morozova L. Cherish the Sprouts of Talents. Osvita, October 31, 2001, p.6. 111 Forecast of Economic and Social Development of Ukraine for 2003, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine draft. 103 RAZUMKOV CENTRE l NATIONAL SECURITY & DEFENCE l No.4, 2002 l 27 THE PROBLEMS OF UKRAINE'S EDUCATION SYSTEM POINT OF VIEW Promotion of education is a tradition of the Catholic Church. Education given by the Catholic Church is accessible not only to its faithful but also to all of society, including representatives of other religions. It is not confessionally oriented and in no way identical to evangelisation or catechisation. For instance, in Japan, where the Catholic community is rather small, children Archbishop attend Catholic schools irrespective of their Nicola ETEROVIC, confessional affiliation. In Catholic universities, Apostolic Nuncio there are pedagogical, technical, medical to Ukraine departments; at Catholic schools children are taught fundamentals of sciences. Therefore, Catholic schools and universities are open to dialogue with science, present-day world and modern culture. As a result, they are active in different countries, even those where the Church is rather strictly separated from the state. For instance, there are many Catholic schools in France. They adhere to state programmes and are managed by the state. Additionally, they are based on the Christian religion and bring pupils up in the spirit of the Christian morality. In different countries, Catholic schools act on different legal grounds, dependent on the adopted legal system. In countries with the Anglo-Saxon legal system, they are mainly driven by private initiative. For instance, in Ireland, nearly 60% of all private schools are Catholic. They rely on state assistance. In countries with the Roman-German legal system, Catholic schools work on the basis of agreements concordats. Such concordats exist, for instance, between the governments of German lands and the Holy See. They lay down the terms of activity of Catholic universities or departments attached to temporal universities and the conditions of religious education at school. In all German schools, Catholics and Protestants study religion as a mandatory discipline. Again, that discipline is different from catechisation and intended to bring children up in the spirit of the Christian morality. Agreements by Catholic universities have been made with postcommunist states, too. For instance, in Hungary and Poland, such universities are recognised by the state and obtain state financial assistance. In Croatia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Poland there are theological departments attached to state universities. Before the Revolution (of 1917 ed.), in Ukraine, in particular, in Transcarpathia, there were Catholic schools and a tradition of state recognition of education certificates issued by those schools. We are interested in restoring that tradition. Catholic schools and universities can make a great contribution to the creation of a modern, pluralistic state. We are interested in dialogue with the Orthodox Church and open to such dialogue. For young specialists, it is very important to be unbiased towards other Churches. As far as special theological education is concerned, the Catholic Church is surely interested in state recognition of theology and theological education. Today, both the (Roman ed.) Catholic and the Greek Catholic Churches have their educational institutions in Ukraine. These are the Catholic Institute of St.Thomas and three seminaries of the Roman Catholic Church, the Lviv Theological Academy and five seminaries of the Greek Catholic Church. However, a problem has arisen with state recognition of their diplomas. We hope that that problem will be resolved. Before the parliamentary elections, it was said that the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine would work out relevant criteria for state attestation of such educational establishments and draft a decision to be passed in accordance with the established procedure. We are sure that solution of the problem that arose in connection with theological education given by the Church will enable Ukrainian society to recognise its Christian roots and master the great achievements of Christian culture, which would contribute to building a democratic and tolerant state in Ukraine. 28 l RAZUMKOV CENTRE l POINT OF VIEW 1. What is your idea of the main problems of theological education in Ukraine? The fundamental problems of theological education in present-day Ukraine, especially felt in Orthodox schools, lie in its pragmaticconfessional character and isolation from the world network of scientific communication. The obvious need to prepare more priests Ihor ISICHENKO, for ones own confessional structures within the Archbishop shortest period of time has led to a formation of of Kharkiv and Poltava, theological schools lacking theologians with sciRector of the Collegium entific degrees, without libraries, after a lengthy of Patriarch Mstyslav pause that occurred in Ukraine after the destruction of the old network of spiritual schools. Orthodox theology was confined to familiarisation with the Russian educational tradition, while the experience of Greek, Romanian and South Slavic theological schools remained unknown. Theological schools developed in isolation from the network of state higher schools, which led to gaps in acquaintance with the pedagogical culture represented by the best temporal universities and institutes. Active inter-confessional scientific and pedagogical contacts were hindered by the politicisation of relations between the Churches and religious organisations. With this in mind, the Collegium of Patriarch Mstyslav founded in Kharkiv in 1994 on the basis of the Kharkiv branch of the Lviv Theological Academy of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (active in 19931994) resorted to an experiment unusual for Ukraine. It was facilitated by the fact that among the Kharkiv clergy and believers of Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church there are quite a few scholars and high school professors. One should keep in mind that Kharkiv houses more institutes and universities than any other city in Ukraine. Professors of the Kharkiv National University and the Kharkiv State Pedagogical College lectured at the Collegium of Patriarch Mstyslav. Direct scientific contacts were established with the Lviv Theological Academy, conceptually close to the Collegium of Patriarch Mstyslav. Thanks to ties with foreign theological institutions, attempts were made to send graduates abroad to continue their education. This brought some positive results. Now we are witnessing the appearance of theologians capable of scientific challenge and selfeducation, open for new scientific methods and employment of the achievements of theologians of other confessions. Poor knowledge of modern and classic tongues by the students, the computer illiteracy of the clergy, and the paucity of Ukrainian church WEBsites and electronic libraries pose serious impediments for overcoming problems inherited from the past. But the most fatal thing is the conservation of the old stereotype of a poorly educated and simple-minded parson whose intellectual level was not to surpass the level of elderly female parishioners. This problem is not so much of an ecclesiastic as of a social nature. Presently, educated and open-minded graduates of theological schools experience more difficulties in searching for their place in Ukrainian society than limited but sly and crafty plotters. 2. Did you ever encounter concrete facts of non-recognition of certificates of theological schools by the state? Officials treat our diplomas with due respect, but only as exotic documents that have no legal force whatsoever for a public servant. In Ukraine, a diploma of higher theological education will remain a document intended for internal use within the Church so far as theological schools are legally recognised only by religious organisations. Recognition of such diplomas by the state may be achieved by two ways: v signing of relevant agreements between the administrative centres of the Churches and the state, with the church centres assuming responsibility for the level of education of theologians with higher education or a scientific degree; NATIONAL SECURITY & DEFENCE l No.4, 2002 QUALITY OF EDUCATION Ukrainian higher educational establishments on the labour markets of developed countries. v state accreditation of theological schools and academic councils for the defence of the degree of a doctor or master of theology. The second way seems more rational to me, given the present situation and the absence of uniform, clearly defined criteria of assessment of graduates of theological schools and competitors for scientific degrees in theology. However, in either case, we should begin with fundamental changes in the attitude of state institutions (the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the Higher Attestation Commission) towards theology as a science, or, rather, a complex of sciences. Traditionally, here we lag behind not only the civilised states of the West but also behind Russia, where a package of relevant state documents is being prepared. However, in Russia the problems of acquisition of desired accreditation by theological schools have come to the fore: every accredited school must have the required number of professors or members of the academic council of the highest qualification and ensure teaching of the required number of general disciplines to students. At the same time, the analysis of factors that influence the quality of education the level of funding, human resources, informational, material and technical support points to the existence of a trend towards their deterioration. Furthermore, in Ukraine, there is in fact no transparent system of unbiased assessment of education quality, which prevents proper adjustment of education sector development. Funding The Law of Ukraine On Education provides for budget funding of the education sector in the amount of no less than 10% of GDP112. Meanwhile, in reality, expenditures on education in 2000-2001 totalled only some 4% of GDP113. The 2002 budget earmarks 3.45% of GDP on education 0.5% less than in 2001. Budget allocations on education are clearly insufficient, since modernisation of basic secondary schools alone will cost some UAH 3 billion114, which makes up 2% of GDP. 3. Were there any attempts to obtain such accreditation? What was their result? On a few occasions, graduates of the Collegium of Patriarch Mstyslav have had to prove their right to work at positions reserved for specialists with higher education. This mainly refers to schools. In such cases, the presence of a temporal diploma was helpful. However, I do not recall a single case of a state official with higher education recognising a graduate of a theological school holding the degree of a bachelor of theology. Even if teaching of religion, catechism, Gods Law or Christian ethics were introduced in general education schools, priests with irregular diplomas would be deprived of the right to teach there. Such cases have already been observed in Halychyna, where priests who have no other n temporal education are barred from teaching Christian ethics. Given the steady under-funding of key programmes and expenditure items such as textbook publishing and computerisation of educational establishments115, it may be stated that the budget expenditures do not even cover the current needs of the education sector116. Additionally, clear and transparent mechanisms of distribution of budget allocations on education are absent at all levels, which leads to their use for other than designated purposes and further aggravates the problem of funds117. As early as in a preschool age, villagers are tagged as belonging to the social group with low initial competitiveness on the qualified labour market. Hence, the present level of budget funding of the education sector does not entirely meet even its current needs. As a result, it is not investing, and does not ensure modernisation and development of the entire education system in Ukraine. Insolvency of low-income families leads to the exclusion of children and teenagers from the education system and pushes them out to the zone of increased social risks. Such a situation creates preconditions for: (1) unfair competition among youths at higher levels of education; (2) consolidation of hereditary poverty; (3) impairment of societys ability not only to increase but even to reproduce the high intellectual potential intrinsic to Ukraine. 2.2 QUALITY OF EDUCATION Remuneration of labour. The insufficiency of funding also conditions the low level of qualified labour in the education sector. Despite the rise of official salaries in 2001118, the average salary of pedagogues is not only below the average in all sectors of economy but also below the subsistence level. By its qualitative parameters, Ukraines education system remains competitive, as proved by the stability of the UNDP education index for Ukraine, the prizes taken by Ukrainian schoolchildren at international Olympiads and the competitiveness of graduates of In March, 2002, the average salary in the sector was equal to UAH 255 (some $47), which makes up only 72% of the average level in all sectors of economy and is 1.8 times less than in industry (manufacturing etc.) and within the system of state administration (UAH 462)119. 112 The Law of Ukraine On Education, Article 61. In 2000, budget expenditures on education made up 3.96% of GDP; in 2001 4.06% of GDP. See: Sachkov L. Educationalists Demand More Funds. Osvita, December 12, 2001, p.2. 114 Data presented by I.Yukhnovskyi, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Science and Education Committee of the previous convocation. See: Ihor Yukhnovskyi: The Average Level of Education in Ukraine Is Lower than in Developed Industrial States. Ukrayinskyi Rehionalnyi Visnyk, November 15, 2001, p.9. 115 For instance, according to Minister of Education and Science V.Kremen, the sector faces a disastrous situation with educational literature. See: Education Without Rose-coloured Glasses. Interview with Minister of Education and Science V.Kremen. Uryadovyi Kuryer, April 7, 2001, p.4. According to Director of the Scientific-Methodical Centre for Development and Production of Training Aids of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine V. Samsonov, the Programme of Informatisation of General Education Establishments and Computerisation of Village Schools for 2001-2003 was provided with funds at the level of only 40%. See: Malkova N. Computer in a Village School. Prezydentskyi Visnyk, January 26, 2002, p.6. 116 Education Without Rose-coloured Glasses. Minister of Education and Science V.Kremen. Uryadovyi Kuryer, April 7, 2001, p.4. 117 For instance, by the results of inspections of the use of budget funds earmarked for the needs of education performed by the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine, facts of violation were revealed in the Kyiv National University named after Ò.Shevchenko and higher educational establishments of the Ministry of Agricultural Policy of Ukraine. See: Report of the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine for 2001. Kyiv, 2002, pp.43,48. 118 As part of an increase of official salaries of employees of the budget-sustained sectors, on March 1, 2001, salaries of educationalists were raised by 25% (of administrative staff by 50%. See: Teachers Search for a Better Life. Uryadovyi Kuryer, January 29, 2002, p.7); Pursuant to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Resolution On Raising of Official Salaries (Wage Rates) and Hourly Pay of Employees of Educational Institutions and Establishments of August 14, 2001, from September 1, 2001, salaries were raised by another 15%. 119 Statistical Bulletin for January-March, 2002. State Statistic Committee of Ukraine, Kyiv, 2002, p.124. 113 RAZUMKOV CENTRE l NATIONAL SECURITY & DEFENCE l No.4, 2002 l 29 THE PROBLEMS OF UKRAINE'S EDUCATION SYSTEM As we already mentioned, the subsistence level of an able-bodied person in 2002 was set at UAH 365. Hence, the average salary of employees in the education sector is only close to 70% of the subsistence level. The average salary of a teacher at a state school is 63.6% (UAH 232120). Meanwhile, in Russia the average salary of employees in the education sector has been raised to the subsistence level of an able-bodied person. In February, 2001, it exceeded said level by 3.3%121. The practice of wage arrears persists. As of April 1, 2002, arrears in the education sector totalled UAH 9.8 million (nearly 29% of that amount for JanuaryFebruary, 2002) 122. At the 5th Plenum of the Central Committee of Trade Union of Educationalists and Scientists of Ukraine it was reported that as of April 19, 2002, wage arrears in the sector made up UAH 22.3 million. Wage delays are several months long in 140 districts and cities of Ukraine123. The legislation on education is being directly violated, when speaking of benefits and compensation for pedagogues. For instance, the Law of Ukraine On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2000 (Article 62) suspended benefits and compensations granted at the expense of budgets of different levels to cover some kinds of utility services; Article 58 of the Law of Ukraine On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2001 terminated provisions of legislative acts of Ukraine regarding provision of benefits, compensations and guarantees granted at the expense of budgets of all levels for reduction of or release from payment for housing, utility services, electricity, gas and fuel. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Resolution On the State, Direction of Reform and Funding of Education in Ukraine of June 21, 2001 recognised payments provided for by Article 57 of the Law On Education as the state debt. The Law On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2002 provided subventions totalling UAH 155 million to local budgets for partial implementation of that Article; at the same time, at the 5th Plenum of the Central Committee of Trade Union of Educationalists and Scientists it was said that there is no clarity as to how these funds will be used 124. Since the human potential of a sector is determined, in the first place, by the level of remuneration of qualified labour in that sector, one should admit that the education branch is facing a high risk of losing qualified personnel. Delay with the revision of the present principle of last-turn funding of education and reform of the system of remuneration of labour of educationalists threatens Ukraines education system with the deterioration of the quality of its human potential and, therefore, the quality of education as a whole. Information support Today, information support presents a decisive factor of the quality of education. The level of information support determines the professional competence of the teacher, independence and critical attitude of the student. Information support encompasses: (1) availability of information as such on all carriers; (2) possession of the instruments of access to information (starting from the ability to read) by persons involved in the process of education. In the present dynamic world, the value of information rises with the increasing speed (efficiency) of its transmission and decoding. Hence, the access of persons involved in the process of education to special periodicals, to the Internet and command of the languages of international communication acquire particular importance. Special periodicals. The rate of provision of Ukraines educational establishments with special periodicals covers approximately 36% of the need125. Home libraries of people involved in the process of education can hardly be richer: according to the Book Chamber of Ukraine, in 2000, the aggregate circulation of all special periodicals and series made up 1.1 copies per citizen of the country126; at the same time, the sociological survey conducted by Razumkov Centre in December, 2000, demonstrated that the overwhelming majority (62.4%) of Ukraines citizens does not subscribe to printed media at all, and more than half (55.2%) of subscribers obtains only one periodical127. 120 As of the beginning of the current 2001/2002 academic year. Data of Minister of Education and Science V.Kremen. See: Hutorova L. Expecting for the Doctrine of Education. Kievskie Vedomosti, October 3, 2001, p.3. 121 The average salary was equal to RUR 1,567; subsistence level RUR 1,517. See: Education in Russia before 2002. http://www.ed.gov.ru/koi8/obzor.html. 122 Statistical Bulletin for January-March, 2002..., p.128. 123 Attention of Educational Trade Unions Is Concentrated on Students. Osvita Ukrayiny, April 26, 2002, p.4. 124 Ibid., p.5. 125 On the Results of Work of General Education and Vocational Education Establishments in 2000/2001 Academic Year and Main Tasks for the New Academic Year. Osvita, August 22, 2001, p.5. 126 Druk Ukrayiny-2000. The Book Chamber of Ukraine, Kyiv, 2001, p.23. 127 The survey was held between 1-10 December, 2000. 2,009 respondents aged 18 and above were polled in all Ukraines regions. The situation in Ukraines information space was analysed in more detail in the Razumkov Centre analytical report Topical Problems of Ukraines Information Security. See: National Security & Defence, 2001, No.1, http://www.uceps.com.ua. 30 l RAZUMKOV CENTRE l NATIONAL SECURITY & DEFENCE l No.4, 2002 QUALITY OF EDUCATION As for the provision of Ukrainian libraries with special periodicals, there is one telling fact: out of 28 thousand scientific journals published all over the world, Ukraine gets just close to 1,000128. tion stream. According to diagrams presented on Insert Accessibility of PC and the Internet to pupils, as early as at the initial school level of education, the access of children and teenagers is limited. At that, the indicators of access of children from cities and villages to computers and the Internet differ in times. Access to the Internet. The results of the nation-wide poll and the polls of target groups demonstrated a generally low level of access of persons involved in the process of education in Ukraine to the global informa- In general, 22.4% of the polled parents reported that their children had the opportunity to work with computers at school; 12.1% at home; 23.9% at Accessibility of PC and the Internet to persons out-of-school establishments. Only 2.8% of involved in the process of education, children have access to the Internet at school, % of the polled 3.9% at home, 10.7% at out-of-school Accessibility of PC Accessibility of the Internet establishments. Teachers Students Lecturers Teachers Students Lecturers At home 13.3 10.4 22.8 4.0 3.6 5.3 At educational establishment 12.0 20.8 39.4 2.0 6.6 28.5 At other place 14.1 25.9 10.2 16.1 21.2 15.4 No access 63.1 50.8 37.8 78.3 70.6 54.1 Access to the global information network is limited also for teachers, students and lecturers of higher educational establishment. In such a situation, introduction of distance education is impossible, while in the developed countries it significantly expands the accessibility of the education network. Accessibility of PC and the Internet to pupils. % of the polled Does your child have a possibility to use PC? City No Yes Yes Yes 27.2% 16.0% 29.6% No Hard to say 66.9% Hard to say Hard No to say 67.6% At out-of-school establishment At home At school 5.2% 82.5% 1.5% 3.5% Village At home At school Yes Yes At out-of-school establishment Yes 3.3% 11.7% 12.1% No No Hard to say 85.0% Hard No to say 84.2% 3.8% 94.6% Hard to say 2.1% 3.3% Does your child have an access to the Internet? City At school At home Yes 3.5% No 5.2% 7.9% At out-of-school establishment Yes 13.7% No Hard No to say 88.7% Yes Hard to say 78.4% 91.2% Hard to say 3.7% 7.9% Yes At out-of-school establishment Yes 1.2% 4.1% Village At school At home Yes 1.3% No 95.0% Hard No to say 3.8% 128 96.7% No Hard to say 92.1% 2.1% Hard to say 3.7% Command of languages of international communication. The results of the poll demonstrated that participants of the educational process in Ukraine are generally not fluent in the UN official languages, with the exception of the Russian language traditionally present in Ukraines educational community: fluent command of it was reported by 78.9% of teachers, 69.9% of students and 84.7% of lecturers of higher educational establishments. Meanwhile, only 5.0% of teachers, 3.0% of students and 7.6% of lecturers of higher educational establishments reported fluency in English. The share of those who are fluent in any other UN language (Spanish, German, French) does not exceed 1.5-2.0%. Therefore, there are no grounds to state that in the past decade, an active educational policy has been pursued in line with the declared strategic course of EU integration. The main deficiency of the information support for the educational process lies in the delay in elimination of mass computer illiteracy and introduction of intense teaching of foreign languages. Hence, the process of education in Ukraine is largely deprived of a key trait truly mass and therefore socially significant involvement of the participants of the educational process into the world information process. See: Professor Volodymyr Parkhomenko: Scientific-technical Information Makes up 15% of the World Information Resources. Svit, 2000, No.1-2, p.7. RAZUMKOV CENTRE l NATIONAL SECURITY & DEFENCE l No.4, 2002 l 31 THE PROBLEMS OF UKRAINE'S EDUCATION SYSTEM educational establishment has to find its own ways of survival130 (funds allocated by local budgets, lease of premises, sponsor funds, use of funds obtained from paid education, etc.). While in towns educational establishments may hope to procure supplementary funds, the overwhelming majority of village schools is actually deprived of such an opportunity. Today, half of 14.9 thousand village schools requires capital repair, for which not a penny has been spent in the past 10 years. As of January 1, 2000, of 1,200 unfinished village schools, 32 were commissioned and construction of 811 suspended131. Every twentieth village school is working in condemned premises (763 schools, or 5.1%). Less than 1% of village schools have computer classes132. Material and technical support for education Unfortunately, it is impossible to obtain summarised, trustworthy and complete data on the issues of material and technical supply of educational establishments in Ukraine due to the shortcomings in the state budget structuring, statistic accounting system, confusion in departmental accounting of funds and material assets and document turnover. Thus, the state of material and technical support for education is assessed on the basis of the most representative available data with account of an error. The 2002 state budget earmarks funds only for higher educational establishments subordinated to the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine UAH 0.5 million. Hence, annual expenditures for said purposes make, on the average (provided the entire amount is allocated), UAH 1,400 per higher educational establishment, or UAH 1.75 for the maintenance of one square metre of their area (287.8 thousand square metres, less leased out areas). Since annual budget expenditures in education do not exceed 3-4% of GDP (in 2002 3.45% of GDP), it is easy to imagine the state of material and technical basis of Ukrainian higher educational establishments. Vocational, secondary and infant schools are in a very similar but still worse situation. For instance, provision of educational establishments with training aids makes up 28.5%; with equipment for laboratory and practical works does not reach 2%; physics, chemical and biological laboratories are equipped at a level of 6-9%129. While the material and technical basis of some educational establishments somehow holds, this is not a merit of the state. At that, we should keep in mind that the real assessment of the situation is very difficult, especially in a situation where every These assessments of the material and technical maintenance of educational establishments largely coincide with the assessments collected by Razumkov Centre in course of the nation-wide public opinion poll on education issues (Diagram Assessment of material and technical support for the education process at educational establishments ). The level of such support at secondary Assessment of material and technical support for the education process at educational establishments, % of the pooled 52.2% Low Average 43.8% 41.2% High 30.7% 30.0% 25.1% 8.6% 1.8% 1.1% Secondary schools Vocational schools Higher educational establishments schools was termed as low by 52.2% of the polled, at vocational schools by 43.8%, at higher educational establishments by 25.1%. At that, the share of negative assessments regarding village schools (74.7%) exceeds the relevant indicator of town schools (38%) almost two-fold. Unsatisfactory material and technical support for Ukrainian educational establishments is a result of a critical situation in the economy and ineffective state policy. The state of village schools deprived of extra funds even for safe maintenance of premises is especially alarming and requires state interference. The absence of state assistance and encouragement of governmental investments on the sector along with poor material and technical support for educational establishments will have a negative effect on the quality of education. n 129 On the Results of Work of General Education and Vocational Education Establishments in 2000/2001 Academic Year and Main Tasks for the New Academic Year. Osvita, August 22, 2001, p.4. 130 The Kyiv National University named after Ò.Shevchenko unlawfully spent on its own needs UAH 19.4 million, as was established by the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine in the result of inspection of budget expenditures in 2000. See: Report of the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine for 2001 Kyiv, 2002, p.43. 131 Chervinskyi V., Halaburda S., Petrivska Ye. Sponsorship and the Problems of Village Schools. Osvita, July 11, 2001, p.12. 132 There are different data as to their number: in different interviews, Minister of Education and Science V.Kremen cites different figures: 134 schools (see: Polushkina V. Buses for Schoolchildren, Increased Stipends for Students. Kievskie Vedomosti, September 1, 2001, p.6), or 104 schools (see: Matiushyna À. For the Future. Uryadovyi Kuryer, September 1, 2001, p.5). It is equally unclear how many computers will be installed in 2001/2002 academic year, since the first interview mentions 300 schools set to obtain computer classes, the second 400 computer classes funded only from the central budget. 32 l RAZUMKOV CENTRE l NATIONAL SECURITY & DEFENCE l No.4, 2002 3. CONCLUSIONS AND PROPOSALS T his section sums up the results of analysis of the state and trends of Ukraine's education system and puts forward proposals as to the measures that may stop the development of unfavourable tendencies (or at least minimise them) and help improve the situation in the sector. Provision of the development of the education system Ukraine has a high educational potential. The system of educational establishments existing in Ukraine is extended, open, is characterised by a variety of forms of education and remains competitive in the world education community. It generally ensures a sufficient level of coverage of citizens and quality of their education. The general level of human resources employed in the educational process remains high. At the same time, Ukraines education system is developed unevenly. Positive trends are largely confined to the following areas: (à) higher education and a small sector of general secondary education where educational services may be not just self-sustained but profitable; (b) international exchanges, projects and programmes associated with intense foreign assistance and personal enterprise of citizens. There, where educational services are unprofitable and require substantial funds, first of all, within the system of preschool and extracurricular educational establishments, other tendencies are observed: shrinkage of the network and the number of attendees, lack of personnel, decrease in the coverage of children and teenagers. The network of educational establishments in the country is in a critical state. Exactly those initial, basic levels of continuous education have been suffering substantial losses. The existing level of budget funding of the education branch does not fully meet even current needs. As a result, it does not have an investment character, and is not ensure modernisation and development of Ukraines education system. There are grounds to predict that in several years the wave of underfunding of education at lower levels will achieve higher echelons. Insufficiency of funds also conditions the low level of qualified labour in the education sector. The development of unfavourable tendencies in the sphere of education is reflected in public opinion and arouses concern of citizens. According to the majority (54.7%) of respondents, the state of education has deteriorated; more than half (57.2%) of the polled believes that the general level of education of the population in the years of independence declined. The development of negative trends may be prevented through a true change in state policy towards education in general and its basic levels in particular. Experts of Razumkov Centre believe that if in the next 3-5 years we do not depart from the principle of last-turn financing of the national education, Ukraine may lose the available educational potential and get stuck on the outskirts of the world developments. RAZUMKOV CENTRE Education is an inalienable part of society and cannot be reformed separately from all its components, especially given the signs of a systemic crisis seen in Ukraine. Education should be recognised a true priority of the state policy, first of all, a priority of state funding. A transparent system of distribution of budget funds allocated on the education sector and control of their use should be created in Ukraine. To that end, the following measures must be taken. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine should: v in order to ensure priority funding of education, adopt legislative acts providing for: (1) legalisation of shadow capital of non-criminal origin; (2) targetoriented remittance of the set share (for instance, 1%) of excise tax and taxes on gambling for budget funding of the education sector; (3) introduction of a multichannel system of funding of higher educational establishments, in particular, through attraction of sponsor funds, grants, etc.; v in order to ensure transparency, legislatively introduce a system of funding state secondary schools based on allocation of funds per pupil. Educational establishments should be allowed to dispose of such funds at their discretion; v legislatively work out and implement a transparent mechanism of funding higher educational establishments based on allocation of funds per student; v in order to preserve and develop Ukraines intellectual potential and finally do away with the principle of last-turn financing of education, provide for unconditional observance of Article 61 of the Law of Ukraine On Education that envisages funding of the education sector at a level of no less than 10% of GDP; v in order to raise the social status of teachers: (à) provide for unconditional observance of Article 57 of the Law of Ukraine On Education under which teachers salary should be not lower than the average wages in industry; (b) pass the Law of Ukraine On Amendment of the Law of Ukraine On Public Service to grant the status of state servants to some categories of teachers of state secondary schools and vocational educational establishments; v in order to create necessary economic preconditions for the reform of education, provide for governmental submission and timely review of a balanced National Programme of Economic and Social Development together with the state budget for the following year: this will allow target-oriented allocation of l NATIONAL SECURITY & DEFENCE l No.4, 2002 l 33 CONCLUSIONS AND PROPOSALS funds, including on education, with account of technological complexity of events envisaged within the framework of each direction of development. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine should: v in order to integrate education and science, conduct an experiment on the national level to envisage introduction of a system of upbringing, education and scientific activity presuming formation of vertically integrated educational corporations made up of the following elements: lyceum university scientific research institute business (industry). Dependent on the experiment results, a decision should be taken on the expediency of legislative regimentation of establishment of such entities and transfer of scientific research institutes from the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine to universities; v create favourable conditions for innovative activity in higher school, operation of technoparks established on the basis of higher educational establishments. Perfection and reform of the education system The system of education requires further perfection and reform. Its real improvement is possible only on the basis of a comprehensive approach to financial, organisational, personnel, social, information and other problems. Presented below is a set of measures intended for the attainment of that goal. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine should: v in order to ensure grading and continuity of education, pass: (1) amendments to the Law of Ukraine On Preschool Education to provide for the obligation of one-year preschool education prior to the entry to a secondary school; (2) the Law of Ukraine On Postgraduate Education to establish the procedure of postgraduate education; (3) the Law of Ukraine On Adult Education to regiment the specificity of education of adult citizens (above 30 years); (4) the Law of Ukraine On Distance Education to regiment the specificity of distance education; (5) legislative acts taking into account specificity of some forms of education: theological in particular, recognition of diplomas issued by such institutions; military in particular, its universalisation and training in a second mandatory civilian profession; artistic in particular, traineeship of pupil and student in the artistic centres of the world; v in order to raise independence and autonomy of universities, pass amendments to the Law of Ukraine On Higher Education, to provide, in particular, for electivity of all officials of higher educational establishments, development of student self-administration, granting greater organisational and financial independence to higher educational establishments; v in order to ensure adequate staffing in the system of general secondary education, form legislative basis for the introduction of the following scheme: stage 1: preparation of pedagogues for secondary schools at state pedagogical higher educational establishments at the expense of budget funds; stage 2: work of graduates for a certain period at state secondary educational establishments with a fixed salary in lieu of partial coverage of the cost of study; stage 3: granting graduates who have worked out a specified period an opportunity to choose between continuing pedagogical activity at state school with the status of a public servant or changing the place of work at their discretion. 34 l RAZUMKOV CENTRE l Provide for introduction of a similar scheme for teachers within the system of vocational education; v in order to preserve and develop the system of preschool education, pass relevant legislative acts providing for state support for organisations (irrespective of the form of ownership) financing and developing own networks of kindergartens. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine should: v in order to introduce new information technologies and enable every citizen (irrespective of the age) to obtain education of all levels and degrees, before the end of 2002 work out a target-oriented State Programme Development of a Single Educational Information Environment in Ukraine in 2003-2005. The Programme should provide for: formation of a common regulatorylegal and methodical basis, unified criteria and means of assessment of knowledge; formation of a common database of educational programmes and electronic libraries for the development of distance education; co-ordination of activity of all elements of the system of education (at all levels) for the pursuance of a single policy of control of its quality. The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine should: v for practical implementation of Ukraines strategic course of European integration, introduce the course Europe and Us at secondary schools and a special course of European law and European integration, history and activity of the EU and other European institutions at higher educational establishments; v in order to introduce new information technologies, support the initiative of Internet providers of providing Internet access for secondary educational establishments, especially in rural areas. As a first step, provide pupils no less than 6 hours of PC access a week; v initiate additional Internet courses at higher educational establishments; jointly with interested Internet providers create special educational WEB-sites on different subjects (mathematics, physics, etc.); v increase the number of hours allocated by school programmes for the study and mastering of skills of work in the Internet, work out and issue relevant manuals for schools; continue computerisation of schools; envisage expenditures on Internet services within school maintenance budgets; v regularly organise all-Ukrainian computer Olympiads for pupils and students; grant their winners preference at entrance to higher educational establishments of the relevant profile; v improve legal education of secondary school pupils. Introduce a special course of childrens rights; v in order to implement the state language policy, staff schools of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (ARC) with qualified teachers of the Ukrainian language and literature, improve material and technical maintenance of educational establishments, work out a programme of retraining teachers of the Ukrainian language and literature working in ARC; v co-ordinate activity of the Ministry of Education and Science with the State Committee of Information Policy, Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine and Ukrvydavpolihrafiya State Joint-stock Company for the purpose of placing orders for the issue of textbooks only in Ukraine. NATIONAL SECURITY & DEFENCE l No.4, 2002 CONCLUSIONS AND PROPOSALS Provision of accessibility and quality of education attending preschool educational establishments for one or another reason (health, insolvency of parents, etc.); v take inventory of the network of secondary schools in rural areas. Take measures for its gradual optimisation with account of actual attendance of schools and establishment of basic schools in special educational districts; v in order to guarantee social equality at acquisition of higher education and perfection of inter-grade joints within the system of education, conduct an experiment on the national level involving introduction of: (à) a uniform test for all levels of education with account of the relevant international experience; (b) a system of uniform attestation of graduates of 9th and 11th (12th) classes (3-5 major subjects); (c) a system of free but paid admittance to the 1st year of higher educational establishment (dependent on the family income and with account of bonuses intended for acquisition of the first profession): after the 1st year of study appointment by the results of study: fivepointers free of charge, the rest for a certain fee. v provide partial or full compensation of the cost of travel to the place of study for pupils and students from low-income families (orphans); v provide for allocation of funds for pupils from lowincome families (orphans) for acquisition of the minimal set of schoolware: uniform, a bag, a pen-case, etc.; v take measures for prevention of reduction of the network of evening schools; v in order to overcome corrupt phenomena in the system of education: (à) ensure publicity and transparency of work of admission commissions at higher educational establishments; (b) introduce the practice of audio and video recording of entrance examinations, make those materials accessible to the public; (c) perform, jointly with the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, a special inspection of higher educational establishments in connection with their issue of invitations for foreigners study. Provision of accessibility and quality of education presents a pressing problem. For that purpose, the following measures should be taken. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine should: v in order to encourage commercial banks to pursue a policy of broad social crediting (first of all, of education, housing and healthcare), pass the Law of Ukraine On Social Crediting. The latter should provide for: social credits (assumed as credits for the abovementioned purposes at preferential rates for a term of no less than 10 years); state guarantees of the issued credits; mechanisms of inheritance of credit liabilities; the institute of guarantors, etc.; v in order to ensure accessibility of preschool education, pass the Law of Ukraine On State Assistance in Preschool Education. It should introduce a system of bonuses for low-income families for preschool education of their children or payment of allowances, if such education is provided by an unemployed family member (with provision of relevant methodical manuals and control of observance of the proper level of preschool education on the part of the concerned state body); v in order to guaranty young people an opportunity of free acquisition of a profession at a level of a higher educational establishment of the 1st level of accreditation, pass the Law of Ukraine On Free Acquisition of the First Profession. The Law should provide for introduction of a system whereby graduates of 9th or 11th (12th) classes descending from low-income families (orphans) will obtain a bonus whose value will be equal to the average value of education at a higher educational establishment of the 1st level of accreditation; v in order to introduce state target-oriented assistance to teachers, pupils and students of state educational establishments, pass the Law of Ukraine On Introduction of Target-oriented Bonuses for the System of Education. The Law should specify the procedure of granting personal fixed bonuses to lecturers (irrespective of their salaries), pupils and students from low-income families and orphans for acquisition of special literature, computers, subscription to specialised periodicals, etc.; v legislatively develop and introduce mechanisms of economic stimulation of business entities extending their employees grants for acquisition of higher education; v pass the Law of Ukraine On Education of Children with Special Needs. The Law should provide for: (1) legislative definition of the notion of a child with special needs; (2) their free choice of the type of educational establishment to study in; (3) creation of an adaptive and developing barrier-free environment for those children (special lifts, lavatories, ramps, special equipment designed with account of the disability of such persons, establishment of centres of remote, modular and communication education, etc.); (4) creation of a system of psycho-pedagogical, medico-social, legal monitoring and volunteer support for children with special needs; (5) development of the standards of organisation of education and rehabilitation processes, material, technical, personnel, special methodical and rehabilitation support, mechanisms of licensing and certification of educational-rehabilitation activity. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, acting jointly with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine should: v pursuant to clause 6 of the Strategy of Ukraines Integration into the European Union, work out relevant proposals regarding international treaties between Ukraine and EU member states (candidates for EU membership) to provide for: (à) co-operation in the education sector; (b) expansion of academic exchanges, first of all, for training specialists in the sphere of European legislation and EU activity; (c) development of co-operation in the sphere of licensing, attestation and accreditation of educational establishments; initiate the process of negotiations on signing of relevant agreements of programmes of student exchanges between Ukraine and the EU; v ensure inter-departmental and inter-university coordination at implementation of international programmes and projects involving Ukrainian educational establishments, develop co-operation with international (UNESCO, European Commission, Council of Europe) and national educational institutions of foreign countries. Razumkov Centre experts hope that implementation of those measures will improve the situation in the education sector, eliminate (or minimise the influence of) existing negative tendencies and create conditions for raising Ukraines education system to a qualitatively new n level. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine should: v arrange for adoption of preschool general education programmes by children brought up at home and not RAZUMKOV CENTRE l NATIONAL SECURITY & DEFENCE l No.4, 2002 l 35