Education in Ukraine
Encyclopedia
Literacy
Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...
in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
.
11 years of schooling are mandatory. As a rule, schooling begins at the age of 6.
.
According to (then) Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada
Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is the speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's unicameral parliament. The speaker presides over the parliament and its procedures. They are elected by secret ballot from the parliament's deputy ranks...
(the Ukrainian parliament) Volodymyr Lytvyn the amount of budget financing for the sphere of education reached about 6% of Ukraine's GDP in November 2009.
Ukrainian educational system
The Ukrainian educational system is organised into five levels: preschool, primary, secondary, higher and postgraduate education.In 2010 a total of 56% of children aged one to six years old had the opportunity to attend preschool education
Preschool education
Preschool education is the provision of learning to children before the commencement of statutory and obligatory education, usually between the ages of zero and three or five, depending on the jurisdiction....
, the Education and Science Ministry of Ukraine reported in August 2010.
Schools receive 50% of their funding from the city budget and 50% from the national Government budget
Government budget
A government budget is a legal document that is often passed by the legislature, and approved by the chief executive-or president. For example, only certain types of revenue may be imposed and collected...
. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine
Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine
The Cabinet of Ukraine is the highest body of state executive power in Ukraine also referred to as the Government of Ukraine...
intends to give general education schools the option to independently manage the financial resources assigned from the state budget starting from January 1, 2010.
School level
Primary and secondary education is divided into "younger", "middle", and "senior" schools. Younger school comprises grades 1 to 4. Grades 5-9 are usually referred to as "middle school", while 10-11 are "senior school". Despite the names, students usually study in the same school building throughout their primary and secondary education. Primary schooling lasts 4 years and middle schoolMiddle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
5. There are then 2 profile years.
The objective of general schooling is to give younger students knowledge of the arts and sciences, and teach them how to use it practically. The middle school curriculum includes classes in the Ukrainian language
Ukrainian language
Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
, Ukrainian Literature
Ukrainian literature
Ukrainian literature is literature written in the Ukrainian language. Ukrainian literature had a difficult development because, due to constant foreign domination over Ukrainian territories, there was often a significant difference between the spoken and written language...
, a foreign language, world literature, Ukrainian History, world history, geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
, algebra
Algebra
Algebra is the branch of mathematics concerning the study of the rules of operations and relations, and the constructions and concepts arising from them, including terms, polynomials, equations and algebraic structures...
, geometry
Geometry
Geometry arose as the field of knowledge dealing with spatial relationships. Geometry was one of the two fields of pre-modern mathematics, the other being the study of numbers ....
, biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
, chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, physical education
Physical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
, music and art. At some schools, students also take environment and civics
Civics
Civics is the study of rights and duties of citizenship. In other words, it is the study of government with attention to the role of citizens ― as opposed to external factors ― in the operation and oversight of government....
classes. Students attend each class only once or twice a week, however. Part of the school day is also spent in activities such as chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
, karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
, putting on plays, learning folktales and folk songs, choir and band. After school, students might also have music lessons, soccer, hockey, or tennis.
In 2001, a 12-year education system replaced an older 11-year one, but in 2010 the 11-year one was restored, so that no pupil studied 12 years in secondary school.
During grades 9 and 11, which is usually around the age of 15 and 17, students take various exams. The current examination system is undergoing change. At grades 9 and 11 students take IGTs (Independent Government Tests), which allow eleventh graders to enter university without taking separate entrance exams. In 2008 entrance exams were abolished and the IGTs became the standard for determining entrance eligibility. But in 2010 the system was changed again.
In school year 2009-2010 potential graduates are scheduled to undergo external independent testing after the final state examination, in the following subjects: Ukrainian language
Ukrainian language
Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
and literature
Ukrainian literature
Ukrainian literature is literature written in the Ukrainian language. Ukrainian literature had a difficult development because, due to constant foreign domination over Ukrainian territories, there was often a significant difference between the spoken and written language...
, history of Ukraine
History of Ukraine
The territory of Ukraine was a key center of East Slavic culture in the Middle Ages, before being divided between a variety of powers. However, the history of Ukraine dates back many thousands of years. The territory has been settled continuously since at least 5000 BC, and is also a candidate site...
, mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
, physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
, and one foreign language (of the pupil's choice) in either English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, or Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
. The results of the testing will have the same status as entrance examinations to institutions of higher education.
International Schools
- Meridian International School, Kyiv (est. 2001)
- Kyiv International SchoolKyiv International SchoolKyiv International School is a private international school located in Kyiv, Ukraine. It was founded in 1992, and is part of the Quality Schools International group, as well as a member of CEESA, Central and Eastern European Schools Association...
(est. 1992)
University level
Higher educationHigher education in Ukraine
Higher education in Ukraine has a long and rich history. Its students, graduates and academics have long been known and appreciated worldwide. The pioneering research of scholars working in the country’s higher education institutions and academies, such as Dmytro Mendeleyev, Mykola Zhukovsky, and...
is either state funded or private. Students that study at state expense receive a standard scholarship if their average marks at the end-of-term exams and differentiated test is at least 4 (see the 5-point grade system below); this rule may be different in some universities. In the case of all grades being the highest (5), the scholarship is increased by 25%. For most students the level of government subsidy is not sufficient to cover their basic living expenses. Most universities provide subsidized housing for out-of-city students. Also, it is common for libraries to supply required books for all registered students.
There are two degrees conferred by Ukrainian universities: the Bachelor's Degree (4 years) and the Master's Degree (5–6th year). These degrees are introduced in accordance with Bologna process
Bologna process
The purpose of the Bologna Process is the creation of the European Higher Education Area by making academic degree standards and quality assurance standards more comparable and compatible throughout Europe, in particular under the Lisbon Recognition Convention...
, in which Ukraine is taking part. Historically, Specialist's Degree (usually 5 years) is still also granted; it was the only degree awarded by universities in the Soviet times.
Major universities
- Chernivtsi UniversityChernivtsi UniversityThe Chernivtsi National University is the leading Ukrainian institution for higher education in northern Bukovina, in Chernivtsi, a city in southwest Ukraine....
(Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University) - Dnipropetrovsk National UniversityDnipropetrovsk National UniversityOles Honchar Dnipropetrovsk National University is one of the leading establishments of higher education in Ukraine. It was founded in 1918. The first four faculties were history and linguistics, law, medicine and physics and mathematics....
- Donetsk National UniversityDonetsk National UniversityDonetsk National University is the leading higher educational institution in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. The University's history starts in 1937 from the moment of creation of a pedagogical institute in Donetsk . In 1965, the Institute was transformed into Donetsk State University...
- Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute
- Kharkiv UniversityKharkiv UniversityThe University of Kharkiv or officially the Vasyl Karazin Kharkiv National University is one of the major universities in Ukraine, and earlier in the Russian Empire and Soviet Union...
(Karazin Kharkiv National University) - Kyiv Polytechnic Institute
- Lugansk State Medical UniversityLugansk State Medical UniversityLugansk State Medical University is a high educational establishment of the fourth level of accreditation in the city of Lugansk . It was founded on May 6, 1956. At the present the university is a powerful scientific educational and treatment complex including medical biologic lyceum, gymnasium,...
- Lviv PolytechnicLviv PolytechnicLviv Polytechnic National University is the largest scientific university in Lviv. Since its foundation in 1844, it was one of the most important centres of science and technological development in Central Europe. In the interbellum period, the Polytechnic was one of the most important technical...
- Lviv UniversityLviv UniversityThe Lviv University or officially the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv is the oldest continuously operating university in Ukraine...
(Ivan Franko National University of Lviv) - National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy
- Nizhyn Gogol State University
- Odessa UniversityOdessa UniversityThe I. I. Mechnikov Odessa National University , located in Odessa, Ukraine, is one of the country's major universities. It was founded in 1865, by an edict of Czar Alexander II of Russia, reorganizing the Richelieu Lyceum of Odessa into the new Imperial Novorossiya University. In the Soviet...
(I.I. Mechnikov Odessa National University) - Ostroh AcademyOstroh AcademyNational University "Ostroh Academy" is a Ukrainian self-governed research university that was re-opened in 1994 by the Presidential Decree of April 12, 1994...
- Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv
- Tavrida National V.I. Vernadsky University
- Ternopil National Economic UniversityTernopil National Economic UniversityTernopil National Economic University, TNEU founded in 1971. It is located in the city of Ternopil, Ternopil Oblast.Viktor Yushchenko, the president of Ukraine , is an alumnus of TNEU.-Academic Departments by Faculty:****...
- Vadym Hetman Kyiv National Economic University
- Vinnytsia National Medical University
Postgraduate level
Upon obtaining a Master's Degree or Specialist, a student may enter a university or a scientific institute to pursue postgraduate education. The first level of postgraduate education is aspirantura that usually results in the Kandidat Nauk degree (Candidate of Sciences). Candidates must pass three qualifying exams (in the field of specialty, in a foreign language of their choice and in philosophy), publish at least three scientific articles, write a dissertation and defend it. This degree is roughly equivalent to the Ph.D.Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in the United States.
After graduation a student may continue postgraduate education. This takes from two to four years of study in doctorantura. Significant scientific results must be obtained and published, and a new thesis written. This produces a Doctor Nauk
Doktor nauk
Doktor nauk is a higher doctoral degree, the second and the highest post-graduate academic degree in the Soviet Union, Russia and in many post-Soviet states. Sometimes referred to as Dr. Hab. The prerequisite is the first degree, Kandidat nauk which is informally regarded equivalent to Ph.D....
degree (Doctor of Sciences), but the more typical way is working in a university or scientific institute with parallel preparation of a thesis. The average time between obtaining Kandidat
Kandidat
The Candidate of Sciences degree is a first post-graduate scientific degree in some former Eastern Bloc countries, such as Russia and Ukraine, which is awarded for original research that constitutes a significant contribution to a scientific field. The degree was first introduced in the USSR on...
and Doctor degrees is roughly 10 years, and most of new Doctors are 40 and more years old. Only one of four Kandidats reaches this grade.
Kandidat Nauk may keep the position Associate Professor in universities, or Researcher/Senior Researcher in scientific institutes. Doctor Nauk can hold position of full Professor, Head of Laboratory or an equal/higher positions.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science is considering changing the Soviet style Kandidat Nauk and Doctor Nauk degrees to Doctor of Philosophy and Doctor Habilitation, as has happened in several other post-Soviet countries.
Marks
Ukrainian universities use a traditional 5-point scale:- "5" = "excellent"
- "4" = "good"
- "3" = "acceptable"
- "2" = "unacceptable".
"5", "4", "3" can be described as "Satisfactory", "2" - as "Fail".
Students who get a failing grade of "2", have two more chances to pass an examination.
Since 2006 (and even earlier in some universities), university students are graded on a rating scale of 0 to 100. These grades can be transformed to the 5-point scale approximately as follows (this system may vary a little from university to university and may change from time to time):
- from 91 to 100 means "5"
- from 71 to 90 means "4"
- from 51 to 70 means "3"
- from 0 to 50 means "2"
Both the rating scale and the 5-point scale are used in university registers.
As for secondary schools, they also used the above-mentioned 5-point scale till 2000. Since 2000 secondary schools use a 12-point scale, which could be transformed into the traditional 5-point scale as follows:
- "12" = "5+"
- "11" = "5"
- "10" = "5-"
- "9" = "4+"
- "8" = "4"
- "7" = "4-"
- "6" = "3+"
- "5" = "3"
- "4" = "3-"
- "3" = "2+"
- "2" = "2"
- "1" = "2-"
Here signs "+" and "-" denote respectively better and worse version of a mark, for example, "4-" means "somewhat worse than good".
Languages used in Educational Establishments
In 2000/01 academic year, 70% of students attended Ukrainian-language schools (that is where UkrainianUkrainian language
Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
is the primary language of instruction), while 29% were studying in Russian-language
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
schools. There are schools with instruction in Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
, Crimean Tatar
Crimean Tatar language
The Crimean Tatar language is the language of the Crimean Tatars. It is a Turkic language spoken in Crimea, Central Asia , and the Crimean Tatar diasporas in Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria...
, Hungarian
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
, and Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
in regions populated by those groups.
Historically, the language of instruction has often changed in Ukraine. When Ukraine was part of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, the Ukrainian language was proscribed, and Russian predominated among the elite, who had access to schools.
The initial policies of the Bolsheviks were supportive of local languages, and many Ukrainian-language schools were opened, with the long-term goal of getting rid of illiteracy. From the mid-1930s to the mid-1980s, the Soviet government policies favoured Russification
Russification
Russification is an adoption of the Russian language or some other Russian attributes by non-Russian communities...
. In the 1970s and 1980s, the number of Russian-language schools constantly increased at the expense of Ukrainian-language schools. After Ukraine obtaining independence the trend was reversed. However, reintroduction of formal Ukrainian-language study has taken longer than expected. In some schools that have tried to switch to Ukrainian, part or most of the instruction is still given in Russian.
In universities there are similar trends. In 1991/92 academic year, according to the Razumkov Centre
Razumkov Centre
Razumkov Centre , or fully the Ukrainian Centre for Economic and Political Studies named after Olexander Razumkov , is a Ukrainian non-governmental public policy think tank....
, 49% of high school students were receiving their education in Ukrainian, and 50% in Russian.