Mykola Tomenko, Deputy Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, addressed the Prosecutor General with a request to investigate the situation with another novelty of the Ministry of Education and Science, Youth and Sports regarding introduction of final certification for 5-8 grades of secondary education establishments.
M.Tomenko reminded that on February 16, 2011, the Ministry of Education and Science, Youth and Sports issued a Decree "On Final Certification." Under the Decree, final certification in four subjects Ukrainian language, mathematics, history of Ukraine, foreign language and Russian language (for schools with Russian as a language of teaching) is to be held in 5-8 grades of secondary education establishments on May 10-20, 2011.
The Deputy Chairman reminded that only pupils of 9 and 11 grades had been subject to final certification. It is the first year that results of certification will influence the final grades of the pupils of non-graduating classes for the second term. It cannot be ruled out that tests may change into annual exams. He stressed that reasonability of such novelty is debated by both educationalists and parents and pupils, as nobody was informed about such final certification in the beginning of the academic year.
The Deputy Chairman drew attention to the reports of mass media that preliminary tasks for the final certification had allegedly been printed in "Litera-Druk" publishing house. The right for publishing and selling the total circulation of sample tests was granted to "Ranok" publishing house in Kharkiv. "Now the parents and pupils are simply obliged to buy these textbooks, as they are the only ones containing sample tests," stated M.Tomenko.
According to M.Tomenko, the situation implies that the Ministry is interested neither in assessment of pupils´ knowledge nor the reforms of the secondary education, but in the financial-corruptive fraud aimed at obligatory distribution of extra textbooks among the thousands of pupils of Ukraine. He stressed that the matter concerns several million hryvnias at the expense of parents of 5-8 graders.
The Deputy Chairman requested the Prosecutor General to look into the situation with unexpected introduction of final certification in the end of the academic year, verify legitimacy of fee-based distribution of sample tests among the pupils of 5-8 grades, and check the grounds for granting the exclusive right for publishing these textbooks to "Ranok" publishing house.
The Deputy Chairman also addressed President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych with a request to investigate the situation with final certification.