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Where there is no law, but every man does what is right in his own eyes, there is the least of real liberty
Henry M. Robert

What Can a Hungry Teacher Teach an Underfed Schoolchild? 

19 January, 1999 - 00:00

Ukrainian schools have started their spring terms. What in fact remained
unnoticed by journalists and the public against the backdrop of New Year
celebrations and concurrent festive commotion was a desperate action by
school teachers in Buchatsky district, Ternopil oblast. Hungry and poorly
clothed, they had come to Kyiv from the hinterland to picket in front of
the Presidential Administration building, i.e., the seat of the President
of a country that keeps hungry both teachers and their alumni.

On December 24 four schoolteachers in Buchatsky district went on a hunger
strike until their salary arrears were paid in full. In a week's time the
number of the desperate protesters rose to twelve. Five were rushed to
an emergency hospital in the third week of the protest. The picket in front
of the Presidential Administration was brief because of the cold. The teachers
returned to their district hoping they will be able to draw the President's
attention to their problems during his planned visit to Ternopil.

The Chief Executive did visit Ternopil on January 10, but the teachers
failed to see him due to late notice. The Day learned that Leonid
Kuchma promised to repay the sufferers their arrears as early as the first
quarter. However, Ukrainian teachers have already heard such promises before.

Meanwhile, the situation in Ukrainian education is catastrophic, said
Viktor Ohnevyuk, Chief of the Ministry of Education's Secondary Education
General Directorate in a telephone conversation with The Day's
Inna ZOLOTUKHINA
, citing facts that characterize the teacher's current
situation in society and of education in general.

As of January 6 this year, total Ukrainian teacher salary arrears reached
442 million hryvnias. The worst situation is in Kirovohrad, Ivano-Frankivsk,
Volyn, Chernihiv, and Ternopil oblasts, where total pay arrears in 1996-1998
ran to 8.5-9 months, even more in some outlying districts.

Extremely low monthly salaries of 130-150 hryvnias ($36-42 US) deter
graduates of teachers' colleges from embarking on a teaching career.

The absence of an infusion of young teachers has led to a situation
when most Ukrainian schools are staffed by elderly ones, and over 2000
teachers have undergone no specialized teaching training.

 

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