You're reading: International experts urge public discussion of latest education bill

Ukraine took the first step to shed the Soviet skin of its higher education system on July 1, 2014, leaving 317 higher educational institutions in existence out of a bloated 802.

A year later, legislators are stepping up their
efforts with another bill that is more comprehensive and which aims to revamp
the entire education system, starting with kindergarten.
This includes increasing the quality and
autonomy of schools and boosting relevance to European standards on all levels
of educational institutions.

In the past, reforms were perceived as a nuisance
for students, parents and educators and didn’t change much for the better.

Two prominent experts on education, Jan De Groof of
Belgium, and Charles Glenn of the U.S., have examined several drafts of the new
law.

De
Groof, a professor at Bruges and chairman of the European Association for
Education Law and Policy, refers to the version designed by the parliamentary
committee on education and science.

It
is “value-driven and will try to balance the rights and duties of students,
parents, teachers and members of school boards,” he told the Kyiv Post on June
22 in Kyiv.

However,
other versions proposed by lawmakers take a more state-oriented approach. Some
legislators are concerned by a perceived rush to adopt the new law without
holding public hearings with parents, educators, and businesses.

To
counter politicization of the legislative drafting process, educators are
emphasizing the importance of getting input from a wide array of people.

“You
can draft a law in seven months, you need seven years to execute the law, but
you need 70 years to change the legal culture of society in some parts on the
world,” De Groof said, underscoring the challenges to meaningful reform.

Glenn,
who is a professor of educational leadership at Boston University, has published
a book titled, “Educational Freedom in Eastern Europe”. As communist rule weakened
in Poland, he notes, parents and teachers started to meet to discuss the future
of their children’s education and to create new schools. This spontaneous
grassroots action based on shared vision and trust made it possible several
years later to implement comprehensive educational reform.

In
his research, Glenn hypothesized that this would be much harder in the former
Soviet Union, because of the historical weakness of civil society. He said
holding public debate out of concern for children will not only yield a new
educational law, “but also make Ukraine a more vibrant and effective
democracy.”

The
two professors stress the importance of finding the right balance between freedom
and governmental responsibility in education. Parents and educators should have
freedom to create and support schools that are distinctive, but government
bears responsibility for social justice and ensuring that every child is
educated.

The
two international experts urge secondary schools to be granted more autonomy.
Their analysis of educational systems in 65 countries found that the highest
performing systems reflect diversity. Schools must be accountable, but it’s not
for bureaucrats to determine all the details of the educational process. The
more decentralized and autonomous schools are – the higher is their quality.

“Government
has a right and a duty to decide what essential things every child should
learn, educators decide how to educate, and parents decide who they trust to
educate their children,” Glenn said.

After
graduating from Harvard, Glenn went to work for the Massachusetts Department of
Education. He thought he knew better than parents and teachers what would
improve the education system.

“Fortunately,
after a while I realized my arrogance and learned that it has to be a very
different kind of process,” Glenn said.

Groof,
now a government commissioner in Belgium, believes that education should be
above politics, but that political leadership should honor education as the
first priority in society. “We do hope that it’s not just politicians who will
decide the speed with which the draft should be voted,” the professor said.
“Let’s use some time for public opinion, for debate. It should be a step-by-step
decision, and not just an overnight settlement by a group of politicians.”

In
Kyiv attending a conference on education in June, the experts were impressed
with the involvement and professionalism with which the new legislation was
discussed. This process is in itself educational, and the professors expect it
to continue and spread:

“We
hope there will be hearings around the country in order to allow as much public
discussion as possible to be engaged, to comment, to make suggestions,” Glenn
said. “This will not only produce the best possible law, but will mobilize
citizens to feel that they have a stake in their education system. It would be
a tragedy if there will be any sort of quick decisions which cut off that
process.”

Kyiv Post intern Artur Korniienko can
be reached at
[email protected].