11:06 15.02.2023

Rada Committee Head Babak: Have no direct ambitions to be Education Minister, but if president offers, I will agree

3 min read
Rada Committee Head Babak: Have no direct ambitions to be Education Minister, but if president offers, I will agree

Head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on education, science and innovation Serhiy Babak says he has no ambitions to become the minister of education and science, but if the president offers him to head the ministry, he will agree.

"I never had direct ambitions to take any chair and put a stamp on my labor that I was a minister. From the point of view of logic, I told the president this more than once, when there was talk about the position of minister, what to complete here those legislative reforms that we promised to make in the program of the president and in the program of the party. After we pass all the necessary laws, theoretically, yes, we can go and implement these laws in practice. As the philosophy of these laws is better than us, probably, few people will understand. And when the ministry changes, it is sometimes difficult to keep this movement in the direction that we have planned. Therefore, I have no direct ambitions to be a minister," Babak told Interfax-Ukraine, answering a question whether he has an ambition to become Education Minister.

At the same time, he said the Education Ministry can do a lot differently.

To a clarifying question about if President Volodymyr Zelensky offered him to become Education Minister, Babak said: "If I hear in these words the desire to really move quickly, efficiently, unpopularly, but to Europe through quality, I will not refuse."

At the same time, the head of the committee declined to comment on the quality of the work of incumbent Minister of Education and Science Serhiy Shkarlet.

"I believe that this is not a correct question, especially in times of hostilities. I will answer the way I answered when I was asked about the work of the previous head of the department - I will never be satisfied with the work of the minister. I am often not satisfied with my work either. It's not that my work or the work of the minister is not of high quality, it's just that more can always be done," he said.

Babak also said regardless of who the Education Minister, the relevant committee will work with him.

"Now, as deputies, it's hard for us, as deputies, to raise the issue of changing this or that minister. In our time, we don't want to undermine the situation. Maybe there will be votes to remove the minister, with any. But will there be votes to appoint a new one, or again the ministry will 'I don't want to allow this either," he said.

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