The university score makes the assessment of applicants more objective, – E. Sulima

The Ministry of Education emphasizes that when enrolling applicants to higher educational institutions, only the external independent assessment score cannot be taken into account

Deputy Minister Yevhen Sulima stated this during a meeting with representatives of some student organizations, at which issues of reforming the higher education system were discussed.

According to the press service of the relevant ministry, Sulima told students about the peculiarities of organizing an external independent assessment and the admission campaign to higher educational institutions in Ukraine.

In particular, he emphasized that when enrolling in higher educational institutions, only the external independent assessment score cannot be taken into account. «Each state, including Ukraine, must take into account the specifics of its own education system and national needs, and therefore, taking into account such indicators as the average score of the school certificate and the score of the higher educational institution when entering universities makes the overall assessment of applicants more objective.»

It should be noted that the government bill on higher education defines the university score as a component of the applicant’s competitive score, which is determined by the higher educational institution.

The draft law contains a norm stating that admission to higher educational institutions on the basis of complete general secondary education during admission to studies at the educational and qualification levels of a junior specialist, bachelor is carried out according to the results of the external assessment, taking into account the average score of the certificate and the score of the higher educational institution.

It should be noted that the lack of a strategy for promoting the bill and the stylistic presentation of the norms of the document sometimes causes polar comments from representatives of the authorities regarding the norms the government’s proposed bill.

In particular, in his recent comment on the legislative regulation of the university entrance score, the head of the relevant parliamentary committee, Maksym Lutsky, noted: «Regarding the issue of the university entrance score. Could this lead to corruption schemes when applicants enter higher education institutions? As a result, I did not recommend making a final decision to my colleagues on the committee until we resolve all conflicting issues regarding this.»

He also suggested that during exams at a higher education institution, the decision may be made subjectively.

«We have eliminated the corrupt non-competitive admission, which was previously for the winners of the Olympiads. Today they receive a bonus for studying well and achieving good results, respectively, for first place – 50 points, for second place – 40 points, for third – 30 points. That’s what is meant by »higher education institution score«. But in no case are they exams, where decisions can be made subjectively. We are talking about clearly defined Olympiads, about pre-university preparation and nothing more,» said Maksym Lutsky.

Meanwhile, the specified norm about the university score, if preserved, may become one of the controversial norms of the government bill, since it reduces the weight of the external independent assessment results when entering a higher education institution.

For example, the results of a nationwide survey conducted by the Democratic Initiatives Foundation at the beginning of this academic year indicate that a stable public opinion has formed in the country regarding support for external independent assessment as a decisive criterion for entering higher education institutions.

The organizers of the study noted: «The external independent assessment is positively assessed by supporters of various political forces, which shows that independent testing unites the country.»

At the same time, the vast majority of respondents consider university entrance exams to be a corrupt stage of the admissions campaign. According to researchers in September 2011, «71% of respondents said that corruption is quite widespread during entrance exams. And in the target group, that is, those who are directly involved in admission, 83% of them.»

On Wednesday, during a government meeting, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, commenting on the results of consultations with representatives of the public, noted that the bill «turned out to be not only resonant, but also conflicting.»

He also emphasized: «It is wrong to turn a blind eye to this and forcefully »push« the bill. Such a law should unite and charge with optimism, and not divide and cause skepticism.»

According to him, on the agenda, among other issues, are improving the bill, resolving controversial issues, in particular, the rules for admission to universities.

The Prime Minister recalled that according to the results of his consultations with representatives of the public have created a working group to finalize the draft law and expressed hope that the work will be constructive and productive. «I asked the working group to complete the revision of the draft law in two weeks. We will consider the proposals and include them in the draft law. And finally, we will draw a line under three years of work,» Azarov said.