The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk took part in the presentation of the draft Law of Ukraine “On Academic Integrity”, which took place at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
The discussion was also attended by members of the Ukrainian Parliament, representatives of the relevant departments of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, scholars, experts, and students.
In his welcoming remarks, the Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament noted that the issue of integrity in Ukrainian science and education is long overdue, a priority and at the same time quite complex.
“We understand the scale of this problem in Ukraine. Today, those who are over 30 years old and who have come to power believe that having a doctorate or professor status is mandatory, and their business card should say “doctor of some science,” Ruslan Stefanchuk outlined aspects of the problem.
According to him, such insinuations with academic degrees and statuses are the first way to reduce the intellectual potential of the nation.
“There is a difference of two letters between the words ‘science’ and ‘ignoramus’, and a gulf in worldviews. We must do everything to ensure that a scientist, as a representative of the highest echelon of intellectuals in any state, who shapes changes in the state, its vision and its worldview, is respected,” the Chairman of the Parliament of Ukraine emphasized, adding that the ‘scientific front’ should be held by those who live in science and understand how academic integrity works, and not by those who hide behind scientific statuses.
Ruslan Stefanchuk also emphasized that the presented document will help the Parliament to eradicate such phenomena as ‘dissertation writing skills’, ‘plagiarism’ and ‘familiarity with science while obtaining a professor’s certificate’ in Ukraine.
“It’s time to put things in order in this area. This is a matter of both scientific and academic purity and the future of Ukraine,” the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine emphasized at the end of his speech.
Yuliia Hryshyna, the Chair of the Subcommittee on Higher Education of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Education, Science and Innovation, also emphasized that academic integrity is an essential element of the educational academic environment of any democratic country.
“Comprehensive provision of an effective system of academic integrity is an important issue in the field of education and science. Today, unfortunately, we do not have final rules for the functioning of such a system, namely, defining, ensuring its effectiveness and applying responsibility,” said Yuliia Hryshyna.
According to her, a large working group has been working in the Parliament for two years to develop the provisions of the Law, which involves representatives of the academic community, experts, and parliamentarians.
“Our goal is to create one big comprehensive law that will answer all the questions the society has about the operation of this system. There have been many discussions, but the version of the draft law presented today is exactly the necessary compromise of opinions and hard work that will bring the idea to life,” the MP said.
Summarizing, Yuliia Gryshyna emphasized that this draft law will encourage Ukrainian education and science to develop according to the rules that will allow them to receive a powerful impetus for development and join the European community faster.
On behalf of the scientific community, Nataliia Kuznetsova, the Vice President of the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine, spoke in support of the legislative initiative. According to her, as a scientist, she knows about the problem firsthand. The urgency of solving it and the scale of its spread prompts us to raise the issue of academic integrity at the level of legislative regulation.
“We need a ‘surgical operation’. We need to do quite radical things. That is why we want to introduce standards of honesty, decency and morality in our scientific space in full at the level of the law, that is, the document will have a systemic character,” the Vice President emphasized and called on fellow scientists and educators to support an important reform by creating an atmosphere of rejection of such a phenomenon as academic dishonesty at the professional level.