Business news from Ukraine

Business news from Ukraine

Introduction of new credits for postgraduate students by Ministry of Education of Ukraine violates their rights – opinion

The introduction of new exams in Ukrainian and foreign languages for postgraduate students by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine violates their rights and will be appealed in court, states Roman Serhiyenko, a postgraduate student and the head of the charitable organization “Charitable Foundation ‘Let’s Change Our Lives’.”

“Postgraduate students have been working for more than a year to defend their legal and constitutional rights. Because last year’s initiative of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, which aimed to introduce additional control measures for postgraduate students who are already studying, poses a rather threatening character for science in Ukraine and is aimed at violating the law and the constitutional rights of Ukrainian citizens, the constitutional rights of scholars, particularly those rights which cannot be restricted during the legal regime of martial law,” said Serhiyenko during a press conference on the topic “The issue of expediency and legality of the initiatives of the government and the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine regarding postgraduate students.”

According to him, this is already the third attempt by postgraduate students to defend their rights, with the first two having been rejected. “What is the essence of the problem? It lies in the fact that this unified state exam, which the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine wants to introduce for postgraduate students who have completed their second year of study… in Ukrainian and foreign languages, although this type of control is not stipulated by any educational programs or documents,” noted the postgraduate student.

Serhiyenko emphasizes that the introduction of an additional control measure in such a form violates the constitutional and legal rights of postgraduate students, as well as the laws of Ukraine “On Education” and “On Higher Education.” Furthermore, the possibility of introducing control in the form of a unified state exam in Ukrainian and foreign languages is not stipulated by the National Qualifications Framework, as it is merely a description that does not provide for the implementation of additional control measures.

“Therefore, we were forced this year to file a lawsuit in court to annul the resolution adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in order to protect the rights of postgraduate students,” he said.

Lawyer and senior partner of the law firm “Kravets and Partners,” Rostyslav Kravets, declared that there is “systematic activity by the Ministry of Education aimed at destroying science and education in Ukraine.”

“Today, we have a very strange situation with the Ministry of Education and Science, where the minister himself declares that education is used solely for the purpose, as I understand it, not of gaining knowledge, achievements, developing science, or progress in Ukraine, but exclusively for avoiding military service. Moreover, this is done quite provocatively and openly,” said Kravets during the press conference.

Since these initiatives of the Ministry of Education are, in fact, not aimed at developing science in Ukraine and entail the violation of constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens, it was decided to challenge these actions in court and to ask the court to recognize as illegal and invalid the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated April 8, 2025, No. 426, in the part of the changes that are aimed at violating the rights and freedoms of postgraduate students, it was noted during the press conference.

Also, in parliament, signatures are being collected among members of parliament under a collective appeal to the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal.

Source: Interfax-Ukraine

, , ,