The proposed budget slashes funding between 43 percent and 50 percent for several Kyiv-Mohyla departments, including Philosophy, Economic Theory, Finance and the Law School. It also terminates stipends for students in journalism and social work the Master’s programs. While a number of Ukraine’s other national universities experienced budget cuts, Kyiv-Mohyla was singled out for particularly harsh treatment.
Immediate and strong reaction followed the proposed budget cuts at Kyiv-Mohyla. Academy President Dr. Serhiy Kvit said: “The University will continue its ongoing discussions and dialogue with the Ministry of Education but we are troubled by the actions of the Ministry and their impact on the education of our country’s young generation.”
Kyiv-Mohyla’s Alumni Association declared support for its Alma Mater immediately after news of the cuts surfaced. It announced a stipend program and scholarships for the cut Master’s programs. Other donors in Ukraine also announced support.
Disproportionate budget cuts
The proposed budget cuts in higher education are controversial in several respects – their relationship to other parts of Ukraine’s national budget and their selective distribution among the country’s universities.
First, higher education appears singled out for the lion’s share of government spending cuts. While Ukraine’s government announced reductions to its national budget for education, it increased expenditures for government officials dramatically, especially in law enforcement, security service and public prosecutors.
Second, the proposed cuts have not been uniformly applied to all of the country’s universities. Although most Ukrainian universities had their budgets reduced, funding for Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and the universities in Western Ukraine was cut back disproportionately.
In addition, deeper budget cuts were targeted at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy’s specific fields of study.
An analysis of law school funding by Dr. Andriy Meleshevych, dean at Kyiv-Mohyla Law School, shows that law schools in Western Ukraine had disproportionally high funding reductions while law schools in the Donetsk region had funding increases for the same programs. The analysis also reveals funding for law schools elsewhere in Ukraine remained unchanged from previous years.
Interestingly, appropriations for some universities actually increased. For example, the National Aviation University and Donetsk National University enjoyed an increase in government support.
A discriminatory approach of funding changes was instituted last year and reductions were significantly increased for the upcoming academic year. For example, the law department budget of Ivan Franko University of Lviv was reduced by 29 percent, of Ternopil and Carpathian Universities by 25 percent; of Volyn Lesya Ukrainka University by 20 percent; Ostroh Academy’s by 14 percent and Transcarpathian State University’s by 13 percent.
At the same time, budgets for law departments of both universities in the Donetsk region rose significantly. Mariupol State Humanitarian University increased by 28 percent and Donetsk National University’s law budget increased by 12 percent.
By contrast, Kyiv-Mohyla Law School’s budget for the upcoming academic year was reduced by 50 percent.
Indications of a larger agenda
In 2010, the country witnessed the introduction of a controversial “Draft Law on Reform of Higher Education.” If passed, this law would have rolled back advances in higher education made since independence, returning to a discredited Soviet-era model of central government control.
The proposed draft law presented a threat to the gradual gains forged in the essential areas of autonomy and academic freedom since the nation’s independence in 1991.
Blame pinned on anti-Ukrainian education minister
Eventually, the proposed “reform” law was defeated at the Parliamentary Committee level and did not reach a general Parliamentary vote. But that victory may be short-lived. New proposals to erode these fundamental rights in education may be forthcoming.
Recent budget proposals signal government attempts to regain control of higher education under the guise of economic necessity. New efforts to thwart reforms at the Parliamentary level may be forthcoming.
The ministry’s deliberate policy
Education Minister Dmytro Tabachnyk has a long history of derogatory and prejudicial statements about Ukraine’s people, language and culture, often aimed at Western Ukrainians.
Tabachnyk plays a divisive role in Ukraine, with a political agenda that disregards Article 24 of the Constitution, which establishes equal rights of citizens and prohibits privileges or restrictions on specific population groups regardless of their ethnic origin or place of residence.
Tabachnyk’s record speaks for itself. Access to education at top universities and Western Ukrainian universities was significantly reduced over the past year. Government financing of schools with lower admission standards increased. Violations of citizen rights to educational fairness and equal opportunity expanded.
Corruption is at pandemic levels in higher education throughout Ukraine. The Ministry’s actions only contribute to its spread. Kyiv-Mohyla Academy is under undue financial intimidation. Based on the Education Ministry’s selective funding choices, it is reasonable to infer a deliberate policy to weaken the system of higher education in Ukraine and to target certain universities more than others, with particular focus on Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and the universities of Western Ukraine.
A weakened higher education system reduces Ukraine’s global competitiveness, impedes the development of future leaders and puts Ukraine within the isolationist, controlled sphere of influence of the country’s neighbor to the east.
Although it is abhorrent to suspect such a goal, after careful analysis and consideration, the high probability of a deliberate policy from such a systematic implementation of abusive financial intimidation and control cannot be ignored.
The President should carry out his promises
Ironically, it was President Viktor Yanukovych who declared 2011 as the "Year of Education", to "improve the functioning and development of innovative education, improve its quality, accessibility, and integration into the European educational space.” If those words were not merely a verbal “Potemkin Village,” then there are steps the President should take to achieve his stated goals.
It is time to heed the call of the recent Freedom House Report, “Sounding the Alarm: Protecting Democracy in Ukraine”, that issued the following recommendation to President Yanukovych: “Dismiss Education Minister Dmytro Tabachnyk, arguably the most polarizing official in the Cabinet, for sowing unnecessary and dangerous divisions within Ukraine over issues of identity, language, and education.”
The question must be asked whether selective and discriminatory actions by the education minister are part of a general policy aimed at crippling opposition by destroying or weakening political figures, organizations, journalists and universities that seek Ukraine’s integration into a global community that will accelerate transition into democracy, transparency and a participatory civil society.
The question must also be asked whether the current minister of education is an asset or a liability to the government and the people of Ukraine.
Kyiv-Mohyla Academy’s role in education reform
In spite of the recent financial pressure, Kyiv-Mohyla Academy continues to fulfill its mission and educate Ukraine’s future generation of leaders. But to continue advancing, it needs equitable treatment by the ministry of education and increased private funding.
With support of friends, donors and grantors in Ukraine and throughout the world, Kyiv-Mohyla Academy has been able to rebuild itself after the fall of the Soviet Union.
National statistics and awards, international recognition, innovative pioneering academic work and programs, and the achievements of its students, graduates and faculty are a testament to the university’s role in leading educational reforms and Ukraine’s integration with the world.
The current conflict is evidence that Ukraine’s system of education is in transition, and the current process offers an opportunity for change nationwide.
The conflict, which in the past was primarily limited to the academic community, has become a topic of national discussion related to fundamental principles of freedom, equal access to education, and national reform.
The people of Ukraine recognize the institutional, political and social conditions necessary to provide equal opportunities and a decent life for their children. Kyiv-Mohyla Academy is in a position to continue providing leadership in this process of transformation. Equitable and transparent reform must take place and Kyiv-Mohyla Academy can play an indispensible role in this process.
Marta Farion is an attorney living in Chicago, USA. She is the president of Kyiv-Mohyla Foundation of America, a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide assistance to National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. She served as chairperson of the Chicago-Kyiv Sister Cities Committee for 13 years and is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the Chicago Mayor’s Office of International Relations – Sister Cities International Program.
