12:43 02.01.2013

Tomenko: Opposition not to vote for higher education bill prepared by MPs Kivalov, Kaletnik and Soroka

3 min read
Tomenko: Opposition not to vote for higher education bill prepared by MPs Kivalov, Kaletnik and Soroka

Ukraine's opposition will not vote for the bill on higher education, which was developed by members of the Party of Regions faction Hryhoriy Kaletnik (President of the Vinnytsia National Agrarian University), Serhiy Kivalov (President of the National University "Odesa Law Academy") and Mykola Soroka (Acting President of the National University of Water Management and Natural Resource Use), Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada's Committee on Freedom of Speech and Information Mykola Tomenko of the Batkivschyna faction has said.

Representatives of student organizations believe that this bill "creates additional prerequisites for corruption in universities, and unreasonably expands the powers of rectors and their administrations, as well as restricts the rights of staff in general and students in particular," the press service quoted Tomenko as saying.

"If the first bill, the so-called [Education Minister Dmytro] Tabachnyk's bill, was a dream for the officials of the Education Ministry in order to fully control the educational process in their own interests, the bill by Kivlov, Kaletnik and Soroka is a bill of those rectors, who wanted to regain full control over the educational process, starting with financial flows and ending with the right to exclude students under any pretence," Tomenko said.

The bill envisages the restoration of the requirement for entrance exams to higher educational institutions, as well as expands the grounds for the expulsion of students, particularly for the violation of collegesэ statutes and internal regulations, the press service said.

Therefore, this bill has no chance of being passed through parliament, Tomenko explained.

"The parliament is currently waiting for the bill, which has been developed by a working group under the Cabinet of Ministers for several months with the participation of teachers, students and rectors, and which was received very favorably by the public, but has not been yet submitted to the Verkhovna Rada. Such a bill on higher education, which takes into account all points of view and interests, after the extensive discussion and debate in parliament will have the chance to be adopted," he added.

Earlier, the Cabinet of Ministers decided to withdraw from parliament and revise the bill on higher education (No. 9655).

On December 3, 2012, the then acting deputy prime minister - minister of social policy, Sergiy Tigipko, said that the Cabinet had approved a draft law on higher education. At the same time, he said, the bill was still being completed, in particular consultation between relevant ministries and agencies were planned.

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