Kyiv, March 30.The system of education in Ukraine should enable the students to acquire knowledge and skills that keep up with the current economic demands. It should also train the graduates for labor mobility and facilitate their adaptation to the changing conditions.This is the statement of Natalya Izosimova, Director of the Foundation for Effective Governance, expressed at the public debate “Ukrainian universities are failing their students”. The event was organized by the FEG in partnership with Intelligence Squared.

“The system of education, from primary to higher, is one of the key prerequisites to competitiveness in any country. According to the Ukraine Competitiveness Report 2009-2010, implemented by the FEG in tandem with the World Economic Forum, Ukrainian higher education and training is placedon the 46position among 133countries.This is the highest performance among the CIS member states.It is a well-known fact that Ukrainian IT specialists, physicistsandmathematicians are internationally competitive and appreciated worldwide.But is it enough to compete successfully for resources, investments and markets? Do Ukrainian graduates meet the highest international standards?” she asked.

The Director of the FEG also noted that if Ukraine wants to successfully compete with other countries, it should diversify its economy and reorient production towards goods and services with higher value added. To meet this goal, the country needs a critical mass of highly qualified specialists, who can make our country more competitive.

The debate participants, who maintain that the Ukrainian higher education produces uncompetitive graduates, speak of unprofessionalism, corruption and overall degradation of the education systemand point to the glaring gap between the skills of university graduates and labor market challenges.

“Ukrainehas simply too many small institutions, and many are badly run with high levels of corruption. They are not strong enough to meet the challenges of the educational global market which is not protected internally within the country any more”, believes Francis Cairncross, Rector of Exeter College, Oxford Universityand Board Member at the Foundation for Effective Governance.

“If we compare a number of foreigners holding high-profile jobs in Ukrainian banks with a number of our countrymen occupying similar positions abroad, the ration may be 100:1”, says Volodymyr Lavrenchuk, CEO of Reiffeisen Bank Aval. In his opinion, Ukrainian graduates have not yet become competitive on the global management market. “Obviously, the main stumbling blocks along their path into the world business community are weak communication skills (resulting in insufficient imitativeness and persistence) and poor command of English that hampers access to the newest information”, he adds.

On the contrary, panelists against the motion claimed at the debate that Ukrainian graduates are highly competitive, and this is their personal merit rather than the achievement of the higher education institutions.

“Doubtless, Ukrainian universities produce remarkably competitive graduates. However, the question remains if this is in fact the achievement of the higher education institutions; in other words, whether producing competitive graduates is the true goal of the majority of our universities. To bring in harmony the activities of the Ukrainian higher education with the best students’ motivation is the main objective of the state educational policy”, emphasized Sergiy Kvyt, President of the National University “Kyiv Mohyla Academy”.

Vitaly Butenko, Chief Strategy Officer at DTEK, believes that despite the obvious paradox of the situation, Ukrainian graduates are very competitive. “Today’s graduates should be able to build their future in the unstable and unpredictable conditions of the Ukrainian market.Can Western universities teach them how to do it? Practice shows that graduates of the Ukrainian higher education institutions are more prepared to the working conditions in Ukraine than their foreign colleagues. Firstly, they have bright and independent minds and can make decisions disregarding Western academic matrices, which simply do not work in the Ukrainian environment”, he stressed.

About the debates

The debate “Ukrainian universities are failing their students” which was held on March 30 in Kyiv, is the seventh public debate in Ukraine carried out in the Oxford Union style.

The event was organized by the Foundation for Effective Governance in partnership with Britain-based Intelligence Squared.

In 2009, the Foundation held a series of debates (debaty.org) on reforming Ukraine’s economy during the economic crisis. For future debates such important topics as administrative reform, regional economic development, the role of science and education in economic development, and innovation and technologies have been chosen.

“The goal of debates is to arrange an informative and efficient conversation on those issues of Ukraine’s economy development on which we don’t have a clear and simple answer. At the same time the debates are important both for the present and the future of Ukraine”, states Natalya Izosimova, Director of the FEG. –“However, for us the process of discussion is as important as the content. We’re trying to ensure that arguments in favor of opposing opinions can be expressed in a constructive manner, and that the opposing opinions can be heard."

A partner of the Intelligence Squared Nick Pisani is confident that such debates can attract attention of the public to culture of political discussions. “The debate helps present and, most importantly, future generations of decision-makers think and act in a different way,” he says.

Profile of FEG

The Foundation for Effective Governance (FEG) www.feg.org.uawas established in 2007 by Ukrainian businessman, Rinat Akhmetov with a mission to develop and implement long-term projects and programs which encourage the long-term economic development of Ukraine. FEG is committed to help reach public and political consensus on the key areas of the economic transformation programs.

To reach its objectives, the Foundation attracts leading Ukrainian and international experts with impeccable reputation. An Advisory Board, which includes famous public and political figures from different countries, ensures the Foundation’s independence. Among the board members are former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell, former U.S. Senator Lincoln Chafee, former president of the National Bank of Hungary György Surányi, and General Director of the Ukrainian office of the International Investment Bank Morgan Stanley Igor Mityukov. The International Advisory Board takes an active part in building the Foundation’s strategy, selecting the priority projects and representing FEG both inside and outside Ukraine.

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