A university entrance score will increase the applicant’s level of preparation, – M. Lutsky

The head of the parliamentary committee on education spoke about his own vision of some norms of the bill «On Higher Education», developed by the Ministry of Education

The parliamentarian noted that one of the main issues that concern students is the right of universities to display their score during the applicant’s admission to study, provided for by the draft law.

«There is no doubt – this is the lever of influence on the education system, which is aimed at increasing the level of preparation of the applicant, and therefore the quality of education. I know that such a practice is quite widespread not only abroad, but, for example, in Russia. A number of Moscow universities successfully use it,» the deputy said in a comment to UNN.

He also noted that he understands the students’ fears about the return of corruption schemes. At the same time, expressing the opinion that a compromise solution to the problem, to begin with as an experiment, could be the right to present their score only to a few of the best universities in the state.

«That is, such a right should not be given to everyone at once, but only to those who deserve it with their reputation, work results and quality of educational services. Take, for example, Kyiv National University named after Shevchenko, KPI, NAU, Kharkiv National Law Academy named after Yaroslav Mudryi… And then, based on practical results, make a decision by additional regulatory act regarding all other universities,» the head of the relevant parliamentary committee suggested.

Lutsky also assured that students should not worry about changes in the cost of training on a contractual basis. «I personally believe that it should remain unchanged throughout the entire term of the contract between the student and the higher education institution. I am sure that the students’ assumptions about concluding additional agreements during their studies or renegotiating old ones on the eve of the session are completely inappropriate in this case.»

He also assured that tuition fees will remain unchanged, as the fulfillment of this condition by universities will be strictly monitored. «If any university decides to do something like this, its leadership will be responsible for it up to dismissal,» the deputy noted.

Lutsky also noted that increasing scholarships to the subsistence minimum is a necessary social guarantee today. «I am of the opinion that those with a GPA of 4.0 should also have a guaranteed right to receive a scholarship.»

«However, we need to strive to ensure that the scholarship for an excellent student is higher than the usual scholarship. Today, the difference between them is only 60 hryvnias. It is unlikely that anyone will be motivated by such a figure!», – emphasized M. Lutsky.

He expressed the opinion that after the adoption of the government bill, it will be necessary to establish the norms of student scholarships. «I am convinced that after the adoption of the law on higher education, we will fix the norms of student scholarships at the legislative level, most likely by a separate resolution. If necessary, we will also prepare amendments to the State Budget of Ukraine, in which we will provide the necessary funds for this.»

He noted that the quality of education should be a priority, and all our steps and decisions should be aimed at improving the quality of education.

«I understand that we cannot avoid controversial issues, because there are as many people as there are opinions, but when it comes to the interests of the state, and education is undoubtedly the national interest of the state, then one’s own ambitions should take a back seat. This applies to both public activists and students,» said Maksym Lutsky, a people’s deputy from the Party of Regions, head of the relevant parliamentary committee.

Let us recall that the working group that is engaged in finalizing the government bill under the leadership of the rector Mykhailo Zgurovsky KPI, has published generalized proposals for the bill, which can be viewed on the university’s website ( http://kpi.ua/attention ).

Whether the authorities will agree to consider the controversial aspects of the bill, which carry a certain electoral risk, will become known in the near future, after discussing the revised provisions of the ministerial bill.

Prime Minister Mykola Azarov stated his readiness to consider the work of the working group after completing the analysis and making relevant proposals.

It should be noted that two more bills on higher education have been registered in the parliament, one of which was authored by the President’s representative in the Verkhovna Rada, Yurii Miroshnychenko.