One in six state-funded university places axed

The number of state-funded places at domestic universities in Ukraine has been cut by 17% this academic year in line with Ministry of Education and Science proposals, the government has officially confirmed.

The Ministry of Education and Science said this measure, which took effect when the new academic year began earlier this month, is part of the ongoing reform of the Ukrainian national system of higher education, which involves dropping the Soviet approach to the structuring of higher education, including the specialist degree, and taking on board European Union standards.

The specialist degree is a five-year degree that used to be the only first higher education degree in the former Soviet Union and has remained generally preferred by employers in those countries. In terms of the rigour required and the amount of original research, it exceeds the demands of a masters degree in the United States and Europe.

The 2002 Law on Higher Education established a new three-layer structure of higher education with incomplete, basic and complete educational levels corresponding to junior specialist, bachelor, specialist and master. But in 2016 the ministry agreed to change the system to junior bachelor, bachelor, masters, doctor of philosophy and doctor of sciences.

Oleg Sharov, head of the department of higher education of the Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science, said last week: “This year students will not be accepted to receive the degree ‘specialist’. We are leaving Soviet practice behind and moving on to the European one, which is built on three levels: a bachelor, a master, a doctor of philosophy. This will result in the cut of 17% of state-funded places at Ukrainian universities."

Planned reductions will mainly apply to those specialties which have been faced with a low demand in the labour market in recent years. These are mainly social and humanities specialties. At the same time, the number of state-funded places for natural sciences, engineering and technical specialties will remain at the level of 2016.

The reduction is also due to a decrease in the number of school leavers.

Sharov, however, also added this will not lead to a reduction of state funding of Ukrainian universities, which will actually grow this year by 9%, up to UAH23.69 billion (US$903 million), compared to 2016.

Criticism

In the meantime, these state plans have been criticised by the Ukrainian university community and students.

Critics believe that in addition to cutting student numbers, the new initiative will have a negative effect on Ukrainian teachers. A spokesperson of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine’s leading university, who asked not to be named, said the latest state plans are dangerous for the national teaching staff, as a smaller number of accepted students will lead to a lower demand for teachers. This will result in the decline of their wages and even massive cuts, he said.

In 2017 the total number of state-funded places in Ukrainian universities amounted to 212,388 students, of which 189,728 were full-time students. During the period of 2018-19 the total will decline further, to 201,500 in 2018 and 199,200 in 2019.

This is the second measure taken by the Ukrainian government this year that aims to cut state funding of the national system of higher education.

In January the number of students receiving scholarships – a stipend towards living costs – in Ukrainian universities dropped by almost 60% because of the new system, which sets higher levels of student academic achievement as a condition of receiving a scholarship.

Currently, the total number of students studying at Ukrainian universities is estimated at about 380,000. Of these, about 180,000 pay fees to study on a contractual basis. Since 2012 the number of students signing contracts with Ukrainian universities has fallen by 50%, as the majority of these students prefer to study abroad.

Vladimir Bugrov, deputy head of Taras Shevchenko National University, said: “Many applicants who have financial resources make a choice in favour of foreign universities. Most often they choose Poland, the Baltic countries, the Czech Republic.”

He said prior to 2014 a significant share of Ukrainian applicants went to Russia, but in recent years their number has declined.

“In the case of Polish universities, many of them reduced the cost of tuition, which attracted many Ukrainian potential students. There are opportunities to study for free there.”

Ukraine experienced a huge increase in universities after the break-up of the Soviet Union, leading to a 70% participation rate in higher education among 18-year-olds. But the higher education system has suffered from endemic corruption and poor practices, with many unqualified students obtaining degrees, which the reforms have sought to address.

Changes have included drastically cutting the number of higher education institutions and giving those that remain greater financial, academic and administrative autonomy.