Last week the European Commission presented its Tempus program to schools of higher learning in Ukraine, which is aimed at helping participating countries develop their educational systems. Program representatives held presentations in the country’s biggest cities, where university representatives learned about opportunities for closer cooperation with institutions of higher schooling in the EU member states. The Tempus program has been launched ahead of the unification of the educational space, which will be completed by 2010. In simple terms, it will enable students to pursue higher learning at different educational institutions across Europe, while diplomas awarded in countries that have joined the Bologna Process will be recognized in all countries. Incidentally, Ukrainian universities will soon be awarding two types of diplomas: a national and a European- standard diploma. Higher schooling curricula will be structured into special units (modules), while the concept of examinations will become history, since the level of knowledge and skills will be monitored throughout the semester. As a result, experts expect standards of knowledge evaluation to increase sharply in Ukraine. University and college instructors will also be able to teach and pursue research in different countries and educational institutions.
However, in order to have the right to contribute to the improvement of the European system of education Ukraine must become a member of this community, i.e., join the Bologna Process. This is expected to happen in May 2005. Active preparations toward this end are underway in Ukraine. The basis for change in Ukraine is higher education, which already offers two degrees: a bachelor’s and a master’s. There will no longer be junior specialists, while vocational training schools will be classed as specialized secondary educational institutions to be regulated by a special law currently in the works. The bachelor’s degree will also change its status. It will become a degree of a full-fledged professional. Moreover, the bachelor’s degree will open the way to a master’s degree for gifted students with a penchant for research. All of this is a complex challenge faced by both Ukraine and many other European nations.
In general, European and Ukrainian universities face many similar problems. By working jointly to solve them it is possible to bring together the educational environments of individual schools and, subsequently, of whole nations. Therefore, bilateral cooperation agreements between universities in different countries have acquired special relevance today. Through grants the Tempus program supports such agreements. The focus of this program is improving the system of higher education as a basis for positive changes in the country.
Tempus was launched in 1990 and has already passed through three stages in its development. What benefits does this EU program offer Ukraine? It will facilitate the introduction of contemporary teaching methods focused on the student, and will help universities through the restructuring process by introducing modern technologies of university administration and academic planning. It is ready to help with replenishing libraries, starting subscriptions to science magazines, buying computers and educational materials, etc. Yet this will be done on the condition that the project is implemented jointly with representatives of EU member states. This is not only about cooperation, but also about establishing strong partnerships that will last even after the funding stops. This envisions establishing ties and networking structures, acquiring teamwork skills, overcoming such problems as mutual recognition of degrees and credits, and providing an infrastructure for traveling students. Thus, this program aims to bring cultures closer together and to launch a structural dialog.
However, employers in Ukraine tend to question the expertise of a professional with a bachelor’s degree earned in four years, and not five, as was the case with “specialist” diplomas. Belgium, for one, has two kinds of bachelor’s degrees — professional and academic — the former earned in three years followed by a year of practical training, and the latter earned in three years followed by a two-year master’s degree program. Students who successfully complete their practical training are offered a chance to continue their education in the academic direction. Ukraine will look for its own ways. For example, it is impossible to train a professional engineer in four years, when it used to require more than six years to educate one. The same applies to training professional doctors. Therefore, the Ministry of Education is currently looking for the most acceptable options that would not reduce Ukraine to the level of a banana republic, i.e., cause it to lose its accumulated technological potential and highly skilled professionals. Our educational system is leaning toward narrow specialization, which holds hidden dangers. This way we may lose the classic academic education.
Incidentally, the Tempus program encourages cooperation among institutions and countries, and exchanges of opinions, human resources, and know-how among EU member states and partner countries. It awards three types of grants. The first type is intended for joint European projects, and is granted primarily to universities that cooperate with each other on goals that can be achieved within two to three years. The second type is meant for structural and other measures aimed at supporting educational reform and achieving certain goals, which take between several weeks to one year. The third type of grant is intended for individual trips of lecturers, professors, staff, or officials of the Ministry of Education in connection with the reform.
