New school year sees return of pupils and early efforts at reform
ajor reforms, the nation’s schools continue to draw criticism from all quarters: parents cite low standards, teachers cite low pay, and government officials say veteran teachers may be unwilling or unable to cope with dramatic changes in the way the nation’s education system operates.
Today’s schoolchildren study for 12 years instead of the 10 their parents were required to complete, and begin to learn English when they enter the second grade. Grades are awarded on an expanded 12‑point scale, rather than the 5‑point system in place prior to 2000. But parents are asking whether any of these changes, implemented to create a more European‑style education, are improving the quality of the instruction that children receive.
According to a study conducted last Spring by the Razumkov Center for Political and Economic Studies, more than half of Ukraine’s parents believe that the education children obtain today is of lower quality than that offered prior to the nation’s independence.
Experts, however, urge patience. They say that the situation is on a fast track to progress.
“Even though the changes [implemented since 2000] appear sudden and people were not ready for them, they are still positive. In the long run, they will bear fruit,” said Roman Shyyan, senior national counsel and a coordinator of the Education for Reform project, funded by the United Nations Development Program. Shyyan said he prefers sudden changes over changes that are introduced slowly after extended deliberation.
Education for Reform was set up last spring to evaluate the current state of the nation’s education system and to develop a reform plan. The program will have studied the results of the first round of reforms by fall 2002, after which the program will recommend additional changes to the government.
Perhaps the biggest single issue education reformers must confront is the state of the country’s classroom teachers. Under‑prepared to accommodate he sweeping changes affecting their profession and under‑paid by all accounts, improving teachers’ qualifications and compensation presents a significant challenge.
Lyudmila Slonchak, deputy director of Kyiv School #132, considers her school lucky because the young teachers assigned to her school are “teachers by calling.” In general, though, she admits that the less‑experienced teachers are inadequately prepared and are generally less interested a teaching career.
Slonchak and Shyyan both say that the low wages ‑ as little as Hr 150 per month ‑ force young specialists to apply for better‑paying jobs elsewhere.
Slonchuk said that it is unfair to link low pay with poor‑quality instructors, however.
“Everything depends on the individual,” Slonchak said. “There are careers where people are paid well but still perform poorly.”
“There are many young people who’d love to teach but won’t because of the ridiculous salary.”
Teachers, especially those with English, technology or economics skills, are forced to tutor or take second jobs to get by. The energy and attention they can devote to the classroom suffers as a result, Slonchak said.
The Razumkov study indicated that nearly half the students presently attending colleges of education say they don’t plan to work in the field. Only 30 percent said they actually planned to teach.
Shyyan said that higher wages alone wouldn’t improve the state of Ukrainian education. What is needed, he said, is a different approach to the job.
“The Ukrainian teacher has turned into a hourly worker,” Shyyan said. “He comes to class, teaches for an hour and leaves. A teacher needs to be more attentive to the children and occupy them even after class.”
Though cash concerns are important, Shyyan said the country should train teachers who are more concerned with children’s education and welfare, and are willing to work with children during extracurricular activities.
“The only thing to change the system is to change the teacher,” Shyyan said. “A teacher needs to devote more effort to developing lesson plans. Where before a literature or history lesson might involve one or two sources, there need to be ten.”
Shyyan said modern teachers must be more interactive, rather than rely on lectures, as in the past. Teachers need to be an information resource and help students learn how to search for knowledge.
Teachers also need to be computer literate and know how to use the Internet as a resource, he said. But few have regular access to computers or have the English language skills to use the Internet.
Shyyan said that as reforms are implemented and the demands on teachers grow, some experienced teachers will quit.
Teachers earn between $28 and $65 per month, depending on their experience and workload. The government has promised to increase the wages by as much as 15 percent this year.
“This increase is ridiculous,” Slonchak said. “It means that, on average, a teacher will take home just Hr 20 more.”
