The Academy

I wanted to write about this topic not only because of the state of education in Ukraine, but also because it speaks to the levels of corruption within the county. Incidentally, I wrote this piece in a coffee shop down the road from the OVIR office, where Jason was trying to register his visa... but that is a whole other can o' worms.

Oh where, oh where do I begin?

We started hearing hints of the troubles in Academia as soon as our orientation began. We heard that something was going on at Kiev Mohylo University (the top university in Ukraine). Some one mentioned that university rectors had to pay anywhere from 100 to 400 thousand USD to keep their jobs/contracts from year to year. Who do they pay? Why, the Ministry of Education.

Shortly after the Orange Revolution (ca. 2004) the country instituted a national exam before high school graduation. The exam became one of the key means of ranking students for admission to college and effectively leveled the playing field between haves, have nots, and those with connections and influence (often one in the same as the 'haves'). This worked for a while. The old system of bribing ones child into college (into a specific college) has been making a re-appearance. Some schools are slowing adding interviews and other elements to their application process, which makes the slide of cash across the table easier to accomplish. They haven't done away with the entrance exam (although there are some in the Yanukovich government that wish to do so- such a democratic systems devolves too much power to people beyond the immediate "Family").

I should also explain that there are two types of students in Ukraine: those that pay and those that don't. In principal, the freebie students (who also receive a stipend for living expenses) are the best and most worthy students. The others- not so much. Bribery is used to not only secure a specific school, but also one of the elite, freebie slots. Parents calculate that they can recoup their bribes via the scholarship and stipend.  

Having all of those pieces of information, let us get to the nitty gritty of Kiev Mohylo University and the subsequent circumstances of all Universities in Ukraine. Kiev Mohylo cannot be bought. As a consequence, the current government and Ministry of Education (by extension) have been waging a war on them. They have gone to court no less than three times and each time the triumvirate of judges has stated that they, in principal, side with the university, but in order to keep their jobs must rule in favor of the Ministry of Education.

Their current battle is over (get this!) the ability of students to change their major. The current Minister has declared that a student may not change majors...ever. Not as an undergrad. Not as a grad student. In fact, they have declared that if someone's undergraduate and graduate degrees are in different fields, their degrees are null and void.

A complication, however, is that Ukraine has signed on to the (European) "Bologna Process", which upholds the rights of students to change majors. Thus, it is the hope of Kiev Mohylo to take the issue to the Hague court.

A secondary fight is occuring in the legislature (the "Rada"). The Ministry of Education has proposed legislation, which would concentrate more power into its hands. The following are a few of the things over which the Ministry is seeking control:

• hiring new faculty and staff
• curricular changes
• new course offerings

They want to control who gets into college, what they are learning, who is working at each university...and, indubitably, who works where afterwards. 

Sadly, I do not know enough about world educational systems to know if this is a common problem. Under the old Soviet system, there existed this sort of cronyism and control (all in the name of equal access to the commune!). I also know that the cost of education in America is pricing out first generation college students and creating a class of elites even as it strives to give equal access. On the other hand, I am by no means apologist at the lack of such overt corruption within our system (outside of, say, student athletes and athletics). 

Our Russian tutor has brought up corruption within the education system several times- asking about buying grades and the like. Jason keeps shaking his head and asking, "how much would a student have to pay me for a grade?" He finds the idea inconceivable. I suggested 50 large seemed a fair price (kidding!).