Back in the 1990s, a young biology teacher in a public school in Lviv dreamed that Ukraine’s rundown schools will someday be revitalized.
Two decades later, this former teacher, Liliya Hrynevych, is the country’s education minister.
During her first year in office she has been busy with a new law on education that, among other things, officially counts the now illegal but ubiquitous financial contributions of parents to help their children’s schools made ends meet. The law is part of an overhaul that includes introducing a 12-year school system to replace Ukraine’s current school program that lasts for 11 years.
Hrynevych has also set the goal of providing more children with the opportunity to study, through opening more preschool institutions and developing inclusive education for kids with mental and physical disabilities.
First tasks
Hrynevych took over the ministry from the former rector of the Kyiv Mohyla Academy, Serhiy Kvit, in 2016. Before that, she was a lawmaker with Arseniy Yatsenyuk’s People’s Front party and had for five years headed the Parliamentary Committee for Science and Education.
Her team is now overhauling a system long stuck in the Soviet era.
“Starting from the very first day in office, it was important to focus on all the crisis issues,” Hrynevych said in an interview with the Kyiv Post. A shortage of nurseries, ineffective textbook procurement, and financial shortfalls were among the problems.
“Children lose interest in studying way too early,” Hrynevych explained. “It starts during the third year of school.”
So one main task is to develop new programs for elementary schools to keep children engaged in the education process.
Hrynevych stressed that young Ukrainians need schools for the 21st century, which means learning teamwork, financial literacy, and analytical skills.
Children who start school in 2018 will enter a 12-year school program similar to ones already in place in France, the United Kingdom and the United States. At least 25,000 elementary school teachers will undergo training throughout 2017 to get ready for the extra school year.
Also, a couple of new books for elementary school reading were published in 2016 that include pieces by modern Ukrainian writers. “I wasn’t satisfied with the quality of Ukrainian textbooks, but these ones are even nice to hold in your hands,” Hrynevych added.
Foreign support
Other countries have expressed readiness to help the ministry revamp education.
Finland has been one of the most active supporters. In 2016, some 240 schoolchildren in Kherson — many of whom are internally displaced from the Donbas war zone — started their first term in a new school constructed by Finnish builders. The school also functions as a social center, providing social and psychological support, and runs workshops for children and adults.
The school project, worth a total of 2.75 million euros, was Finland’s largest single aid effort in Ukraine, part of the 18 million euros in aid to Ukraine since 2014.
Finland is a good role model. Finnish students now score higher than most of their peers abroad on international assessment tests, despite having minimal homework, and also a curriculum that emphasizes music, the arts, and outdoor activities.
“Finland is banking on highly competent teachers, which is a basis of their education,” Hrynevych said. “Now we’ll have two Finnish experts who will assess the new guidelines for elementary school teaching.”
Teachers first
Funding is another challenge. Ukraine spent 6 percent of its gross domestic product on education in 2016. This year’s budget is Hr 168 billion ($6.3 billion), or up to 6.5 percent of GDP.
Teacher’s salaries — abysmally low — will be increased. Young teachers now get Hr 4,345 monthly (about $164), while senior teachers can expect a salary of Hr 7,483 ($281). The official average salary in Ukraine is Hr 6,200 ($233).
The ministry also teamed up with a charity fund headed by Ukraine’s First Lady Maryna Poroshenko to integrate children with disabilities.
Starting in 2016, 11 schools in Zaporizhzhya Oblast started admitting children with physical and mental disabilities. Now there are 45 regional schools taking part in the project. Overall, 2,701 kids in Ukraine are now enrolled in tailored, inclusive education programs.
“First of all, students at pedagogical universities should be taught how to work with children with special needs, and teachers in such schools will have to undergo advanced training,” Hrynevych said. “I have to admit that sometimes even parents are not ready to have children with special needs study with others in the same class. But every child should have a chance for a quality education in this country — that’s what we’re fighting for.”
As for higher education, Hrynevych thinks that the crucial goal is to make colleges meet the workplace demand of employers.
Another challenge the ministry’s facing is a brain drain from Ukrainian science.
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Ukraine had the second largest scientific sector of the 15 former republics. Now, only some 0.16 percent of Ukraine’s GDP is allocated to scientific research. Underfunding often forces young scientists to move abroad.
To plug the brain drain, the Cabinet of Ministers plans to create a National Fund of Research that will match scientists with government officials. The ministry also has a grant program for young scientists worth Hr 28.4 million ($1.1 million) aimed at boosting local research among young scientists. n
