The National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy (NaUKMA) has lodged an appeal at the Kyiv District Administrative Court against the actions of the Education, Science, Youth and Sports Ministry of Ukraine about the allocation of the state order for university places for the 2011/2012 academic year.
NaUKMA President Serhiy Kvit wrote on his blog that the university considers the allocation of educational places to be unfair, "because of the discriminative nature of the matter, which damages the state’s interests."
"NaUKMA thinks that present leadership of the Education, Science, Youth and Sports Ministry allocated the state order [for university places] against the state’s interests, extremely objectively, non-transparently and non-professionally, and, in particular, without regard to the quality criteria of educational services," he said.
In its appeal, the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy gives the examples of those faculties and specialties, "which have been discriminated against most of all this year, and which at the same time are both unique and the best in terms of the quality of training in Ukraine."
"This concerns the master program on journalism, for which the state order was completely canceled, and the bachelor program on law (a cut in the state order of 50%, with only 15 places reserved), philosophy (a cut of 50%, to 10 places) and also economic sciences (the number of places was cut by 43%, and in particular in the Finances and Credit faculty, where 12 places were ordered)," the university president said.
In its appeal, NaUKMA demanded that the court order the Education Ministry to set the state order for university places at the same level at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy as in 2010.
Moreover, NaUKMA asked the court to oblige Education, Science, Youth and Sports Ministry to define the criteria, procedures and terms for distribution between the universities for the state order for university places, and issue corresponding regulations.
