Ukraine's leading English-language newspaper since 1995

Government officials use first school day to promote their political agenda.

The first day of school on Sept. 1 saw the government postpone its regular weekly meeting in order to attend traditional opening ceremonies. But rather than expounding a strategic vision for educational improvement during their official visits, we heard only sugary sweet words about childhood and the need to improve the system.

Even more worryingly, the government is using schools in Soviet fashion to promote its political agenda. Education Minister Dmytro Tabachnyk said this week he didn’t have a problem with an initiative, suggested by Crimea’s education minister, to give a lesson on President Viktor Yanukovych’s amorphous political election plan for the country, titled “Ukraine For People,” to most senior classes.

Text books for fifth-graders have been rewritten to exclude the 2004 Orange Revolution, an embarrassing moment for the current authorities, many of whom are targets of accusations for falsifying the election results in the infamous Nov. 26, 2004, contest between Yanukovych and Viktor Yushchenko.

The textbooks also downplay in Ukrainian history the role of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army’s fight against the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. The textbook’s author said the Education Ministry has instructed the material to be rewritten in such a way that Russia appeared less aggressive.

One change that has already been pushed through – reducing the length of study from 12 to 11 years – has caused problems, as textbooks for the final three years are not ready in time for the new school year. In fact, they might not be ready until November, according to various news reports. Critics say the move takes Ukraine away from the European system and toward the Russian one.

Tabachnyk replaced independent external examinations as part of university entrance tests with school certificates. Experts say this opens the door to increased corruption, due to the widespread practice of bribing teachers for high marks. Corruption also remains in universities, where students still bribe to gain entry.

Leading government officials have said the education system needs many improvements, but they have largely been silent on how to fight corruption and raise academic standards.

The current authorities say they want to create a country of intelligent, competitive citizens. But so far, the only changes seem set to mold them into pro-Russian, government-supporting and corrupt young people. Perhaps they don’t want people to be smart enough to challenge their policies.