Educational reform in Ukraine requires transformation from kindergartens to universities. Without the development of education, victory in the war will remain incomplete, as without a high-quality system, the country “will not actually win tomorrow”, Minister Oksen Lisovyy stated.
During a discussion as part of the New Country project by LB and EFI Group, he said that Ukraine is currently stuck in a raw materials model. In this context, the issue of higher education is particularly significant.
“All stages of education influence human development, starting from kindergarten. We are all aware of this, and I think we are all on the same page here. We understand where the foundations are laid, what guidelines are set, where soft skills are formed, and so on. Therefore, it is impossible to achieve results by reforming or implementing changes, or by focusing efforts on a specific stage of education. Let’s take higher education and focus only on higher education. This will not work, because if we do not change anything in general and secondary education, we will not have applicants for the educational programmes that we call special support programmes – engineering, natural sciences, those that are needed by the economy, business, the defence sector and many others. And those with which we have a crisis. And this crisis is not caused by the education system,” explained the Minister of Education and Science.
The minister attributes the lack of demand for these specialities to the fact that students lose interest in them while still in primary school. The next problematic stage arises when students choose where to pursue higher education – at home or abroad. Ukraine is currently implementing changes in the higher education system in several areas.
“This includes the network, infrastructure and its modernisation, which encompasses many aspects, such as the material and technical component, which needs to be modernised,” he said.
In addition to the material base, there is a need to modernise management, in particular to eliminate “perpetual rectors”, corruption in higher education institutions and price competition – when universities that are supposed to specialise in a particular field, such as technical, train specialists for other fields, such as international relations, but for less money.
“Law 10399, which is currently in its final stages in parliament, provides for four models that essentially monetise – three models monetise talented beneficiaries and those who study on a contract basis. Given the increase in costs, the state compensates for partial tuition and rationalises state orders, which become real state orders for specialists who will be needed by the market in five years. That is, financing mechanisms, network, management – these are the key areas of our focus,” said the Minister of Education and Science.