Tomenko opposes the introduction of an additional point for admission

Vice Speaker of the Parliament Mykola Tomenko expressed his belief that the initiatives of the Minister of Education set out in the bill on higher education will not receive support in the Verkhovna Rada

Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Mykola Tomenko believes that the initiatives of the Minister of Education Dmytro Tabachnyk are an anti-example of reforms, which, in his opinion, will not receive support in the Verkhovna Rada.

He said this during a meeting with teachers and students of the Lutsk National Technical University, answering the question of what will be the fate of the government bill on higher education.

Tomenko, in particular, noted that this is the case when he supports the President of Ukraine, believing that everything that the Minister of Education and Science does, including the draft law on higher education, is an anti-example of reforms.

«If this is an anti-example of reforms, then, of course, it cannot be supported, since it is impossible to experiment on teachers, students, schoolchildren and their parents once again,» the politician emphasized.

Mykola Tomenko emphasized that he is against changing the rules for conducting external independent evaluation and, in particular, introducing an additional entrance exam, which is provided for in the new government bill.

«In general, we must clearly state today that no changes will be made to the system of conducting external testing so as not to torment parents and graduates, and as for changes to the law on higher education, it is necessary to continue discussions and their approval among rectors, experts, specialists and student self-government,» M. Tomenko emphasized.

«Only after such approval can a new version of the law on higher education be considered in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine,» he added.

As is known, the Minister of Education, commenting on the initiatives proposed by the relevant department, referring to world experience, expressed his belief that the score of a higher educational institution is necessary to improve the quality of the selection of applicants. He also rejected the possibility of increasing the corruption component during admission due to the possible introduction of an additional criterion for admission to study.

Dmytro Tabachnyk noted that the external assessment was conceived only as one of the forms of improving the quality of knowledge. «Today, the analysis shows that testing has not yielded striking results in improving the quality of education. Therefore, in the new law, we want to return to a model that provides high quality selection of applicants to all leading universities in the world without exception: when admission is taken into account the school certificate score, testing results, and the score of a higher educational institution.»

The minister also noted: «A classic triad is built almost everywhere in the world. As a rule, in the most famous universities it consists of approximately 1000 points. And this thousand includes three results in different proportions: the final one for secondary education, the result of external assessment, and the score of a higher educational institution.»

Commenting on the issue of the possible return of corruption to higher educational institutions in connection with the introduction of the university score, Dmytro Tabachnyk, in particular, noted: «You know, I studied at the university and did not notice it. Grant-seekers and those who do not want to get quality knowledge. I am convinced that money is offered by students who cannot pass exams only thanks to their own intelligence.»