I will take my possible dismissal calmly. I will get back to teaching again – Education Minister Ivan Vakarchuk

October16200919:47

Ukraine’s minister of education and science, Ivan Vakarchuk, says in case of his dismissal he will get back to teaching. The minister was commenting to Komersant-Ukrayina on the information that a motion to dismiss him had been tabled in Verkhovna Rada by the Party of Regions lawmakers. “I am not going to waste my time to defend myself – it is too valuable. If I am sacked, I will collect my books in my ministerial office and get back to the chair of theoretical physics at Lviv Franko University to give lectures and write formulas,” Vakarchuk said to UNIAN.

The minister does not exaggerate his role in implementing reforms in education. “Reforming means teamwork. The best policy is gather teachers and ask them what they expect the ministry to do for them. We have had scores of such meeting, inviting teachers, faculty, scholars – those who do the teaching daily,” the minister said.

As stressed by Ivan Vakarchuk, the changes made in school and university curriculums are the proposals of teachers who took part in ministerial sessions. This is the best scenario for reforming education, he added.

Summing up his track record as education minister, Vakarchuk said, “I continued the publication of school textbooks, the program to give country schools busses and computers, the introduction of the Bolognia system and independent testing of university applicants.” Some programs were started during my watch as minister, he continued, like expanding the autonomy of universities, introducing elective courses in humanities, opening research universities, improving the accreditation systems for colleges and universities, among others.

Comments

09:2219.10.09 Ukrtoday
- Ukraine needs to merge a number of the higher educational institutions into one larger University. There are at present too many faculties specialized disciplines that are operating as a University when they would be better resourced and served if they were restructured and became a department of a larger institution.