The system of higher education in Ukraine is threatened with a complete collapse due to the lack of funding. This concerns, in particular, technical schools and colleges that are part of the higher education institutions of the III-IV accreditation levels. The MP from UKROP Iryna Konstankevych has stated this at the meeting of the parliamentary committee on science and education.
According to her, at present about two billion hryvnias are not enough for the total expenditures related to salaries and utility services payments in colleges and technical schools.
“Ignoring this situation and just talking about the lack of funds is dishonest and irresponsible towards educators who work in such institutions, faithfully doing their work and providing educational services. In the regions people are greatly concerned about the fate of colleges and technical schools that are part of the universities,” stressed Iryna Konstankevych.
She believes that the existing problem could have been foreseen even in winter, because it was already clear that universities, which include colleges and technical schools, didn’t have additional funds for their maintenance. Difficulties related to lack of allocations arose already in January-May. In this regard, the MPs from UKROP offered to compensate part of the existing deficit at the expense of the reserve fund.
The relevant initiative is envisaged by the draft law No. 8435 “On amendments to the appendix No. 3 to the Law of Ukraine “On the state budget of Ukraine for 2018” increasing expenditures for higher education institutions of the I-II levels of accreditation, which are included without the status of certain legal entities in the higher educational institutions establishments of the III-IV accreditation levels”.
“We proposed to find these means in the reserve fund. It is about 1 billion 200 thousand hryvnias, which can at least partially cover the most urgent needs of such educational institutions,” said Iryna Konstankevych.
On July 4, the parliamentary committee on science and education unanimously approved the bill proposed by the UKROP members, and recommended that the Verkhovna Rada take it as a basis and approve in principle. In addition, the members of the committee advised the parliament to speed up consideration of the relevant document.
“I can only make a bow to those who wrote this bill and the deputies who have registered it. If nothing changes, then in the fourth quarter of this year, salaries will be paid neither in colleges and technical schools, nor in the universities. Thus, by the end of the year the educational process can be stopped at all in higher education,” said Volodymyr Kovtunets, First Deputy Minister of Education and Science.
