Serhiy Kvit in UzhNU: "I think that universities should be financially independent"
Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Serhiy Kvit paid a working visit to UzhNU on April 30, 2015. He began the meeting with university professors and journalists with the issues of implementation of the Law "On higher education". Then he answered numerous questions put by the participants of the meeting.
Yesterday the Ministry of Education and Science adopted a new list of disciplines and specialities. It was not easy. The list was significantly reduced because of consolidation. The new list will be used during the entrance campaign 2015. Some people may not find their specialty in the list, but it does not mean that the respective Department has been closed - said the Minister.
The university will create its own curriculum, get licenses for specialities and accredit educational program. The university can accredit only the list it wants. It refers to the empowerment of the institution itself. Therefore the reduction of the list of specialties is not a tragedy.
"There are less subjects in the West because the quality of the university is determined by university’s research results, therefore university lecturers need to have time for research activity. Accordingly, the number of class hours for students will also decrease. Each department can offer optional courses to choose from. University lifestyle is going to change. These are important things, there is nothing new", - said Serhiy Kvit.
The minister has also stressed that universities have the right to invite foreign teachers: "Colleagues, you are closer than others to Western Europe, so I ask you to apply the Law. It is not required to nostrify a diploma; it is enough to have the decision of the Academic Council."
Soon 118 branches will be deprived of their licenses, first of all, the ones that do not provide higher education. "I appeal to you as a leading university in Transcarpathia. We must cut off the institutions that don’t provide high quality higher education", - said the Minister.
Nowadays vocational schools do not meet modern requirements. They want to introduce a new type of higher education following the Dutch model. Multidisciplinary regional centers of higher education will be set up in the regions. "At the regional level there will be created holdings of employers who want to hire graduates. It is easier to define locally what kind of specialists should be trained for the region. You have to make these decisions yourselves. We bring together universities and employers. This is one of the ideas of decentralization", said the Minister.
Beginning with the next academic year the term "direction" won’t be used any more, only the term "speciality" will be used.
Being asked about learning foreign languages Serhiy Kvit has noted that language policy is a policy of the university itself. The Ministry initiated Summer Schools of English. Currently a database of volunteers who might go to villages and teach in summer schools there is being created. We have to make learning of foreign languages fashionable.
The issue of university diplomas is also relevant. This year UzhNU is forced to announce a competition, because there is no one who agrees to produce a diploma at the cost of 34 UAH, said Vice-rector Oleksandr Rohach.
"It is not necessary to make plastic diplomas, because when you are told that they are protected it is absurd. It is only diploma series and number that prove its validity. Your university has to produce diplomas containing obligatory information. It has to be made of paper. Its design depends on you. Plastic diplomas do not exist anywhere in the world. Therefore, this year UzhNU is going to order paper diplomas. Appearance does not matter. It has to be cheaper, "- said the Minister.
The workload of teachers has also been discussed. It has to be 600 hours - said the Minister. Being asked when the approach according to which teacher’s rate depends on the number of students will be changed, Serhiy Kvit has replied that we should change the whole philosophy of funding.
"We will establish the order of implementing the provision of law according to which universities have the right to be served in banks, we are moving towards complete financial independence of the university. Each university should be a brand. It is impossible the change universities without making changes in the state. There will be a National Quality Agency. We reduce the number of universities and under favourable conditions we will return to this issue in a year "- promised Serhiy Kvit in UzhNU.
At the end the problem of bribery in universities was raised. The Minister stressed that the problem was of moral and ethical character. The only way out he can see is to work fairly.
