QS Quacquarelli Symonds Research Center compiles annual rankings in various fields.
This year, 450 universities were included in the list of “Top universities in Emerging Europe & Central Asia with the QS EECA University Rankings 2022”. Among them, 41 are Ukrainian.
Universities are selected based on several indicators:
- reputation among employers;
- academic reputation;
- ratio of teachers to students;
- number of publications per teacher and employee;
- number of citations per publication;
- share of foreign teachers and staff;
- share of foreign students;
- share of teachers and staff with a degree;
- depth of international scientific collaborations; and
- presence of an educational institution in the online environment.
Last year, 25 Ukrainian universities were included in the list of the best universities. This year, according to Ben Sauter, director of the QS Quacquarelli Symonds think tank, Ukraine has set an absolute record in the history of this regional ranking.
In particular, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv made the top 100. It takes 35th place in 2022. National Technical University of Ukraine “Kyiv Polytechnic Institute rose to 63rd place. Karazin Kharkiv National University – 69th place.
“The development of higher education is one of the priority areas of the Ministry of Education and Science.“
"Improving the quality of educational services, developing academic mobility and increasing funding for research at universities helps to stimulate the work of higher education institutions," said Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, Serhiy Shkarlet.
Not everyone agrees. Mykola Skyba is an educational expert of the Ukrainian Institute of the Future. According to Skyba, the level of education in higher education institutions across Ukraine has not significantly improved over the last 5 years.
“Education has improved in some universities, but not globally across the country”, Skyba said. “This is due to the fact that the system of financing and management has not changed. That is, the picture gets better on the outside, but not on the inside.”
Skyba points out that a discussion is needed now to understand the role that Ukraine’s universities play in the global context. That would make it easier to work on weaknesses, thinking not only about specialists, but also global innovations.
"Today, I do not see the readiness of the current composition of the Verkhovna Rada and the Cabinet of Ministers to do so", Skyba added.
Secondary education in Ukraine
A better situation exists today in schools, Educational Ombudsman Serhiy Gorbachev told Kyiv Post. According to Gorbachev, there is still something to strive for, but over the past 5 years the state has made many breakthrough steps. In particular, he sees the introduction of the “new Ukrainian school” in the country as a real positive.
The concept of the new Ukrainian school is of “a humane school, a partnership school and a school of life competencies”, said Gorbachev, which “is now being implemented”. He added that “we have four years of experience in educational reform in primary schools. At present, we face very difficult and important issues in order to continue the reform of the "new Ukrainian school."
As in universities, Gorbachev believes that the autonomy of institutions should be developed in schools. Today, schools are dependent on the local authorities and cannot independently solve their own issues of purchasing materials and technical equipment, retraining teachers and taking courses.
Since December 2020, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine has been headed by Serhiy Shkarlet. After his appointment, Minister Shkarlet called for a new system of priority areas for the development of science and innovation, with an overarching interest in sustainable development.
