MES violated the deadlines: the court suspended the Admission Procedure-2024, which deprived contractual postgraduate students of the right to deferment
12 December 2024 09:59
The Sixth Administrative Court of Appeal has ruled to suspend the Procedure for Admission to Higher Education in 2024, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
The plaintiff, filed an administrative lawsuit against the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, challenging the orders, which, in her opinion, create serious restrictions on access to education. In her statement of claim, she requested that a number of provisions of the regulations that define the conditions for admission to educational institutions of all levels be declared unlawful, and that a number of orders of the Ministry be suspended.
The case also concerns the special order of Oksen Lisovyi, which deprived full-time graduate students of the right to study on a contract basis.
The plaintiff claims that these orders of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine contradict the principles of accessibility and equality in education. She notes that the restrictions and conditions for admission to educational institutions create serious barriers for people who have the right to education and may lead to discrimination against certain groups of people.
The court upheld the plaintiff’s appeal, overturning the decision of the Kyiv District Administrative Court and recognizing the order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine dated 06.03.2024 No. 266 as unlawful.
The main reasons were the illegality of the document, violation of the rights of applicants, lack of public discussion and non-compliance with the statutory deadlines.
The text of the court decision reads: “The defendant did not hold a public discussion of the draft Procedure in the part concerning admission to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy / Doctor of Arts, which also indicates the obvious illegality of the Order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine dated 06.03.2024 No. 266.”
The court also pointed out that the document was published with a delay: “In addition, the panel of judges notes that the very fact, which is not disputed by the parties, that the public discussion was held from 29.12.2023 to 31.01.2024 further indicates that the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine violated the deadlines for the adoption and publication of the disputed Order.”
At the same time, the court emphasized that the decision does not affect the results of the admission campaigns that have already taken place, but emphasizes the importance of bringing the actions of the Ministry of Education in line with the law.
The court ruling was recognized as an enforcement document subject to immediate execution. According to the decision, the deadline for submitting the resolution for execution is set until November 25, 2027.
The court also noted that the order may be appealed to the Supreme Court by way of cassation.
What you need to know about the special order of the Ministry of Education and Science
At the end of June, the Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Oksen Lisovyi issued a special order depriving full-time graduate students of the right to study on a contract basis. Thus, the relevant ministry has amended the Procedure for Admission to Bachelor’s, Master’s, Doctor of Philosophy/Doctor of Arts Degrees in 2024.
They were introduced by a special order of the Ministry of Education, adopted on the basis of special powers granted by the Law “On Education” for the period of martial law.
The main innovations include
- the number of state-funded places in postgraduate programs will be increased from 2,000 to 7,000
- only part-time or evening students will be able to enroll in postgraduate programs on a contract basis, which do not give them the right to deferment.
In this regard, an appeal was received from the NGO Youth Human Rights Agency, which Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal instructed the State Regulatory Service to consider. Representatives of the Association of Student Governments and the Union of Rectors of Higher Education Institutions also appealed to the state regulator.
They complained that the Ministry’s leadership had violated the Constitution and a number of laws of Ukraine, which could lead to an outflow of academics and dismissal of university staff.
According to the applicants, such actions of the Ministry of Education and Science will lead to an outflow of young Ukrainian scientists to foreign universities and research institutions, significant losses of extra-budgetary funding for higher education institutions of Ukraine of all forms of ownership and, as a result, to the forced dismissal of some of the academic staff of these institutions and deterioration of the prospects for the development of domestic university science.
In its turn, the DRS noted that the orders of the Ministry of Education and Science are not in line with international treaties and agreements ratified by Ukraine. The main violations relate to the right to education, non-discrimination, and proportionality of restrictions in a state of emergency.
As a result, the state regulator concluded that the provisions of the MES orders violate several international treaties and agreements ratified by Ukraine in terms of restricting the right to education, fail to ensure equality and non-discrimination requirements, and do not comply with the principles of proportionality and justification of restrictions under martial law.
