Speaking at the morning sitting of the Parliament on Tuesday, Mykola Tomenko, Deputy Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, drew attention to the situation in the social and humanitarian sector.
The Deputy Chairman stated that analysis of the first year of governance of the President and the Government "suggests that the team in power is overwhelmed with success." He reminded that representatives of the authorities claimed that the acting power had achieved more than the former authorities for five years. "It is true in some areas. For example, nearly 900 schools have been closed for the past five years, while more than 1000 schools are scheduled to close down only this year," M.Tomenko stressed. "64 schools are to be closed in Odesa region only."
M.Tomenko stated that it is for the first time in the past five years that such a mass closure of hospitals is taking place.
The Deputy Chairman reminded that the Ministry of Education had declared a 42-per-cent cut down on the governmental order, while the candidate for presidency Viktor Yanukovych had promised to guarantee 75% of governmental order. M.Tomenko stressed that the Ministry was also planning to limit the category of students entitled to scholarship.
"It is for the first time that the workers of the best Olympic and Paralympic base "Olympic Training Sports Center" have the arrears in wages for two months," the Deputy Chairman admitted.
"We can only imagine the future of Ukrainian villages after the so-called administrative and territorial reform," the Deputy Chairman stressed. He is wondering why the reform is not being discussed, whereas the heads of several regional administrations have already reported to the President on their readiness to liquidate one third of the districts. "However, it is not clear how the social, educational, and cultural rights of the local residents will be maintained; employment of people who will be made redundant after the liquidation is also obscure," he stressed.
"Closure of any school in Ukraine should be considered as a national disaster, not an ordinary task of some officials," he stated. M.Tomenko believes that this resolution should have consent of the parents and teachers, being ratified by the territorial communities of villages, districts and regions. He stressed that an educational center should be established, if a school is closed.
M.Tomenko stressed that the recent attack on education, culture, public health, and rural areas would obviously be accompanies with the attack on land. Although The Verkhovna Rada has not held the parliamentary hearings yet, the Administration of the President has already decided that land would become a commodity since January 1, 2012.
"The country is in trouble, if incompetent people are ruling it, but the country in in disaster if the ministers ‘professionally´ work against their own state. Either we stop the activity of the authorities against their own state, or the people will do it without our help," M.Tomenko summed up.