Another scandal with the Ministry of Education over the optimisation of higher education institutions
4 October 2024 08:00
Another scandal has erupted in Ukraine over the optimisation of higher education institutions. Students and staff of the Lviv National University of Environmental Management are trying to cancel the reorganisation of their educational institution, which the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (MES) carried out without proper discussion with the management, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine notes that this will create a new competitive university based on two sites: Lviv and Dubliany, which will cooperate in training specialists for the agricultural sector and veterinary medicine, as well as developing high-tech innovations.
It is noted that the decision to reorganise was agreed with the management of both universities with the involvement of the Ministry of Education and Science.
The features of the modernisation are as follows:
- For students: all current study conditions are maintained. Applicants will continue their studies in the chosen specialities and educational programmes with all previous conditions preserved.
- For employees: guarantees of preservation of rights and interests in accordance with the law.
This decision provoked a public outcry and outrage among the university community.
The staff ofthe Lviv National University of Environmental Management appealed to the President of Ukraine, the Prime Minister of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada and the Ministry of Education and Science to postpone the process of merger (in fact, liquidation) until the end of martial law.
“We have not received any convincing arguments for such actions, there is no economic justification, and there is a threat of losing property and land. This will cause social tension among students and staff, negatively affect the quality of educational services and the image of the university’s specialities. It is worth noting that Lviv National University of Environmental Management is a city-forming institution in Dubliany. We do not agree to the merger with the Lviv National
university of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnology named after S.Z. Hzhytskyi on the proposed terms,” the statement reads.
LNUP notes that there is a threat of losing the university’s property and land.
“Unfortunately, the experience of reorganisation (merger) of higher education institutions in Ukraine shows that these processes can lead to the loss of existing land, buildings, etc., a decrease in image, and the destruction of scientific schools.
For example, several thousand hectares of particularly valuable land were irretrievably lost to the university as a result of the merger of the Dublianske Research Farm with LNUP in 2014,” the statement reads.
on 3 October, a petition to cancel this decision was posted on the website of electronic petitions .
“In fact, the university, which was founded 170 years ago, with more than 16,000 students, which has 8 colleges in Volyn, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv and Chernivtsi regions, is being liquidated and is being merged with an educational institution with 4,000 students. The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine did not provide any scientific or economic justification for this decision, and only discussed the merger of these educational institutions on a parity basis, which was voiced by the Deputy Minister during meetings with the university administration. Moreover, the decision was made in a completely non-transparent manner, without the consent of the staff and students and the public,” the petition reads.
So far, the petition has collected 3,827 votes out of 25,000.
We would like to remind you that the Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Oksen Lisovyi recently announced the approval of the Conceptual Framework for Reforming History Education in the General Secondary Education System by the Ministry of Education and Science. In the comments to this post, Ukrainians called Lisovyi the worst minister, an enemy of Ukraine and “worse than Tabachnyk”,
It is worth noting that the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine may get a new head in the near future. Kommersant Ukrainian has learned from its own sources that the Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, Oksen Lisovyi, may soon be dismissed.
