Arseniy Yatsenyuk: There won't be any other system of admission to universities, except for EIT

"My stance is the EIT is out of question. It has been and it will prolong. There won’t be any other system of admission to higher educational institutions under the incumbent Cabinet of Ministers", said Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk at a meeting of the National Reform Council on Monday, October 5.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk stressed that the law on higher education is an innovative and great achievement: "We embarked on drafting this law in 2012, while still in opposition," he stressed and added that this process had been headed by the current Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Education and Science Lilia Hrynevych and other co-legislators.

According to the Prime Minister, this law provided an additional autonomy to higher educational institutions, including financial – from now on they can open accounts in banks, and not just in the State Treasury.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk stressed that certain provisions of this act require to be implemented, including an issue of public procurement: "We'll do it. We’ll introduce a scheme "money follows a child". Let them receive a voucher and choose a higher educational institution. We should abandon Soviet times practices”.

"We have envisaged incentives for top students. The better you learn, the higher scholarship you get," he said.

Under the aforesaid law there was also set up the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education: "We won’t get rid of higher educational institutions that print diplomas otherwise". Arseniy Yatsenyuk stressed that by reducing the number of inefficient universities the state would be able "to focus financial resource on those who are capable to ensure education".

He accentuated there exists a problem with academic teaching staff: "It also requires serious attention".

The Prime Minister views upgrading secondary education as the most difficult issue than the changes in higher education: "We have built a wall lacking the base”.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk reminded that he had discussed the issue of reforming secondary education with the headmasters of Kyiv schools, who had won in open competitions to fill the posts.

He stressed the need to introduce selection of school principals across Ukraine, similar to the competitions held in Kyiv and planned in Chernivtsi.

Apart from that, it is crucial to provide a broader financial autonomy to schools.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk also noted that one set of textbooks for a year costs a minimum of UAH 1050, while the cheapest tablet computer - about UAH 2 thousand: "It means that the tablets returns expenditures for two years", he said and added that the tablets will also facilitate communication among students, parents and teachers and of teachers with parents.

The Head of Government highlighted that the retrofitting of secondary education requires a political will. Arseniy Yatsenyuk noted that an objective is to create a high quality education system instead of closing schools, and to provide an opportunity for these children to take the EIT and to obtain quality education.