Students and faculty at one university are actively uprooting corruption. Considered the most prestigious training center for future doctors, 13,000 students at the Bohomolets National Medical University saw their president of more than a decade, Vitaliy Moskalenko, dismissed on April 10 by the Health Ministry amid allegations that he ran a bribery ring.
Moskalenko is currently under investigation for embezzling more than $4 million of taxpayer’s money during the last four years of his presidency, and failed to get reinstated in the courts. While Moskalenko denies the corruption allegations, his lawyer, Ivan Vladinov, said his sacking “had nothing to do with the law.”
For years, Ukraine’s once vaunted Soviet education system has deteriorated, with corruption taking a toll on the quality of education. Plagiarism is widespread and often goes unpunished, while bribes are often accepted to purchase grades, to pass exams and even to buy diplomas. Several Middle Eastern countries, including Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, no longer recognize Ukrainian medical diplomas because of the sub-grade qualification level of graduates. The U.S. also doesn’t recognize Ukrainian medical degrees.
So when the EuroMaidan Revolution erupted in November, students started to protest corruption at Bohomolets. They took over the main building on Feb. 23, calling for the dismissal of venal administrators: Moskalenko and at least nine of his subordinates.
The Health Ministry subsequently formed a special investigation commission, which found that the former president had absconded with some $4 million during Viktor Yanukovych’s disgraced presidency. The case was passed to Ukraine’s prosecutor’s office and is still under investigation.
The news was announced to students on March 27. “Moskalenko appeared at the meeting himself accompanied by his bodyguards,” recalls fifth-year student Kateryna Penzenyk, adding that he insisted his dismissal was “unlawful.”
Kyiv’s Pechersk District Court on July 4 ruled to reinstate Moskalenko. But faculty and students of Bohomolets teamed up with the Health Ministry and filed an appeal. On July 31, the Kyiv Court of Appeal overturned the low court’s ruling to reinstate him.
Kateryna Amosova, the daughter of Ukrainian cardiologist Mykola Amosov, was appointed in his place. In an interview with Den newspaper in June, Amosova said eradicating corruption was at the forefront of her plans, admitting that it “takes time, because it may happen only when the university community changes its mind and understands it’s an immoral thing.”
Noticeable changes, like improving living conditions at dormitories and implementing stricter rules during exam taking, have been introduced since, explains Penzenyk.
In addition, faculty and staff have formed an anti-corruption committee to track violations, monitor public procurement and educate students on the ills of giving bribes.
Volodymyr Motorny, a committee member, says Amosova welcomed the committee’s formation.
“We track information on violations during the education process and keep an eye on public procurements, which adds to financial transparency,” Motorny said, adding that tracking bribe-takers is the committee’s policy priority.
However, Motorny says many students hesitate to approach the anti-corruption center for fear of being expelled. The reason being, according to the committee member, is that some Moskalenko supporters remain at the university even after nine administrators were dismissed.
Yegor Stadnyi, an education policy expert at the Center for Society Research, a think-tank in Kyiv, agrees now is the best time for the medical university to “fight corruption mercilessly and with a new head, who is very popular among students.”
“However, their findings need to get public disclosure and transparency, which needs to be vital for every university. Also universities soon will be obliged to publish education quality monitoring results, according to the new law on higher education that was adopted in July,” said Stadnyi.
Osvita.ua, a web-portal that covers education, ranks Bohomolets University 28th among the top 200 Ukrainian higher education institutions, though it remains the most popular medical school among Ukrainian applicants. Each year, more than 1,200 foreign students are enrolled there as well.
Tuition costs $7,000 for a five-year dental degree program here, while a one-year tuition fee for pre-dental students at New York University’s College of Dentistry exceeds $80,000.
Kyiv Post staff writer Olena Goncharova can be reached at [email protected].
