The group of MPs – members of the “Ukrainian Patriots Association – UKROP” – has registered in the Parliament a draft law № 5154, which proposes to remove restrictions on financing secondary schools through educational governmental grant.
The draft law, submitted to the Parliament, was signed by the MPs Taras Batenko, Iryna Konstankevych, Victor Shevchenko, Oleksandr Dubinin, Vitaliy Kupriy, Valentyn Didych and Oleksandr Shevchenko.
Justifying the need for adoption of this draft law, the MPs stress that with stopping financing underfilled secondary schools (with the number of pupils less than 25) by educational grants from 1st September this year, the constitutionally guaranteed right to education of children living in rural areas is violated. According to the members of UKROP, 65% of schools in Ukraine are rural schools, where one third of young Ukrainians are studying.
The MP Iryna Konstankevych, who has got into the Verkhovna Rada from the educational environment and is going to work in the relevant parliamentary committee, believes that closure of schools in rural areas will endanger existence of most villages. “Schools in rural areas are not only educational, but also cultural and spiritual centres. Education in rural areas needs the most careful approach. No educational changes should be devastating for the Ukrainian villages and communities,” said the MP.
The authors of the draft law have also noted that in some cases schools’ completeness may vary from year to year, and the school that has less than 25 pupils this year, but would have more persons the next year, still will not receive funding.
The UKROP members have stressed that educational governmental grants are subject to the Budget Code and the amendments on stopping financing for underfilled schools were made in violation of the law.
