Deputy Minister of Education and Science Mykola Trofymenko states that the number of higher education institutions in Ukraine does not correspond to demographic indicators and should be reduced, but in a natural and evolutionary way through decisions of university communities.
"In Ukraine, there is a large network of institutions of higher education, we have 116 of them under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education and Science… We have absolutely wonderful universities. Each one is unique, each one is matchless. We support this in them, we support the formation of a value-based community united by a single strategic vision of the institution, which influences the development of the community, region, and country," Trofymenko said at the Education of New Ukraine 2.0 conference in Kyiv on Monday.
He added that the Ministry of Education understands that 116 universities is a lot, and it does not correspond to demographic indicators.
When asked to specify how many universities there should be in Ukraine, the deputy minister did not name a specific number but stated that there should be fewer.
"But this must be an evolutionary, natural, and organically made decision, so that communities unite not simply because the ministry came up with it, but because the community decided to unite," he added, announcing that in the future there will be several such cases when university communities will merge.
He also noted that the Ministry of Education is implementing several policies that should strengthen higher education institutions, including projects to invest in educational infrastructure, strengthening the role of supervisory boards in universities, and education grants.
"Our universities are absolutely no worse than Czech or Polish universities, or those from the eastern part of Europe," he emphasized.
In his opinion, a university in Ukraine should become a point of development and preservation of identity.
"Therefore, I believe that our universities are worth entering," Trofymenko stated.
As reported, Minister of Education and Science Oksen Lisovy states that Ukraine has from 20 to 30 very good and competitive universities that provide a fairly high level of quality of knowledge.
