31 January 2011, 14:22
Mykola Tomenko: It is the Experts, not the Politicians that should prepare Educational Reforms
At the briefing after the Conciliative Council, Mykola Tomenko, Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, stated that "the number of governmental bills on the deterioration of social and economic standards of life is one of the biggest in the history of the parliamentarism."
The Deputy Chairman singled out the bill "On Higher Education" (Reg. No.7486-1) submitted by a group of the People´s Deputies from the parliamentary majority. Although the bill was prepared by the Ministry of Education, it has already provoked serious concerns among the students and the public. The politician is convinced that it is the experts, not the politicians that should prepare educational reform, as the latter is coordinated with the education establishments.
To solve the problems with the bill "On Higher Education", the President and the Government shall clarify their positions on the matter.
Thus, Mykola Tomenko stated that the bill shall represent a common stand of the President and the Cabinet of Ministers, while the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine shall provide a specific procedure of its scrutiny and adoption: holding of the parliamentary hearings, scrutiny in the subject Committee, and submittal to the session hall. Mykola Tomenko also hopes that the Parliament will follow a similar procedure concerning all the bills on the deterioration of life standards.
Summarizing the discussion, the Deputy Chairman of the Parliament announced that the public as well as the student community would protest against the expansion of the fee-based services and worsening of the social situation that would lead to the discrimination against the biggest democratic and European education establishments in Ukraine, such as the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, the Ostroh Academy, and others.