Call for more transparency from Education Ministry

The Committee of Voters of Ukraine [CVU] has called on the Ministry of Education to stop making adjustments to the number of State-funded university places. In their statement, they demand that the procedure be made transparent and clear to the public.

CVU has for a long time been monitoring the situation with entry into universities and providing legal assistance to those trying to get in.

They have received numerous complaints that in certain higher educational institutions, the number of State-funded places has changed according to verbal orders from deans.  This obviously meant that applicants did not have accurate information as to whether they can study in a particular field with a State-paid studentship or only by contract.  This has particularly badly affected students from lower income families or more vulnerable groups in society.

CVU found that the official website (www.vstup.info ) has lots of inaccuracies regarding numbers of State-funded places while many institute websites do not provide the information. Nor does the relevant Cabinet of Ministers Resolution give a breakup according to specific institutes. .

A direct information request from CVU for information was turned down, with the Ministry saying that as of the end of July changes were being made and that CVU should check the information on the above-mentioned website. 

CVU points out that this is a direct infringement of the Public Information Act which prohibits officials from sending people to other sources if the person asking has approached those in possession of the information.

CVU believes that the present situation is infringing the rights of those applying for university places, especially those from poorer families where information regarding the possibility of receiving a State-funded place is absolutely pivotal to their decision. It would be desirable, they say, for the obligation to clearly inform students about the number of places to be legislated, since lack of answerability in this area opens any number of possibilities for corrupt setups and places provided for “their candidates”. It is also unacceptable for the deans to be able to correct the number of State-funded places during the last days of the entry campaign.

From the statement at www.cvu.org.ua