The World Bank has approved a $200 million loan to modernize education in Ukraine.
Through a project called Ukraine Improving Higher Education for Results, the loan will finance the renovation of Ukrainian universities, including introducing high-tech equipment to improve distance learning.
The project will also focus on updating testing with new digital tools.
The project, which is to be implemented over the next five years, aims to tackle Ukraine’s lack of funding in education, encourage universities to merge and create an efficient higher education to keep students in the country, he said.
Data from the World Bank shows that 60% of the Ukrainian students complain about the lack of resources, outdated teaching methods and decaying research facilities. The number of Ukrainian students has declined by 45% between 2008 and 2018, from over 2.4 million to about 1.3 million.
More and more students have sought to study abroad, partly because of the poor quality of education. The number of Ukrainians going abroad for higher education increased by 176% between 2009 and 2016, reaching 70,000, according to the World Bank’s data.
If the project is implemented properly, it will encourage reforms in Ukraine’s educational system, Yegor Stadny, vice president of the Kyiv School of Economics, told the Kyiv Post on May 10.
“It is not a stick, it’s a carrot,” Stadniy said.
The final goal is to show that Ukraine can reform its education through investment. Ukraine will be obliged to continue reforming its education if it wants the World Bank to keep investing, according to him.
Arup Banerji, the World Bank’s regional country director for Eastern Europe said that the initiative had been created to help Ukraine adapt to European standards.
“The World Bank is pleased to partner with Ukraine to modernize teaching and learning in universities in line with European standards in order to equip young Ukrainians with the skills they need for the 21st century,” Banerji wrote in a statement on May 5.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Education will be responsible for implementing the project and monitor its progress over the next five years.
