Combating corruption in higher school

Last September the World Bank Office in Ukraine and the project Pro­moting Active Citizen Par­ti­cipation in Combating Corruption in Ukraine (Hid­na Ukraina) held an essay competition for young people aged 15 to 25, devoted to the problem of corruption in higher school. The organizers selected 14 best works out of more than a hundred. The Day’s editor-in-chief Larysa Ivshyna, a jury member, especially singled out the essays of the Kherson-based Totem Center for Youth Initiatives which published a brochure titled Anti-Pedagogical Poem consisting of 29 real-life stories of bribery. They will be awarded The Day’s special prize for being concerned and creative. We offer our readers what we think are the most interesting stories from this brochure.

A story from the student Mykola

“In my case, most of the situations, when somebody had to gift important and necessary things to other people in exchange for their services, naturally occurred in the university. The only person who did not take bribes was the rector. He told the students and the faculty from the very beginning that those who would try to ‘make a deal’ with him would be fired without any explanations. But other teachers would receive all kinds of ‘gratuity’ from us. To tell the truth, they rarely took money. We would usually bring stationery items to the department. This traditions dated back to school, when senior-grade teachers ‘asked’ everybody in a coercive tone to bring 40 files or a binder folder to the exam. For me at the time, the word ‘file’ only meant the title of my favorite serial about Scully and Mulder, so these requests would leave me dumbfounded and I thought that the teacher also liked X Files and wanted me to record 40 episodes on CDs for him. I did not understand why he needed 40 episodes from each pupil and could not even imagine what a ‘binder folder’ was. But things ran their course, I finished school and was admitted to the university. The latter never demanded anything impossible: they used to say bluntly: fetch some printout paper or new diskettes (later, CDs). It was quite clear. But one ‘request’ really astonished me and left a deep imprint in my mind. I needed to pass my exams before New Year’s Day - and do it well so I didn’t have to do any retakes. The point is I wanted to go the Carpathians after New Year’s Day, and I did not like getting nervous, for this does not befit a man. So I went to see the examiner and asked him what I was supposed to do to ring in the New Year without any arrears left. The teacher said it was better to avoid any kinds of arrears. After a long metaphysical and metaphorical talk about duty, honor and debt-related imprisonment, we finally came to terms: he wanted a Christmas tree. I liked the tree thing. For a Christmas tree as a bribe is something unconventional: it was not a bottle of vodka or a ream of paper. I went to a market place and spent so much time choosing a tree. I can remember that doing this was a genuine pleasure. It was very good and pleasant to choose a green New Year tree. The teacher and I made an appointment near the market. We drove up and we loaded the tree onto the car. His face beamed real joy. For a Christmas tree is a treat even if it is a not-so-honest gift. I also think that this bribe very much differs from the others, for you can’t slip it stealthily into the pocket. There is something revealing and great in this. Well, the teacher took the tree home for his kids to feast their eyes on it, and I went out with my girlfriend. The next day I came to the university and had a proper entry made in my grade-book.”

A story from the student Mariyka

“When I was a university student, teachers would occasionally demand some ‘material benefits,’ which I strongly resisted, to tell the truth. What surprised me the most was the cytology department. They asked us to bring over 25 ballpoint pens each. Can you do some calculation? If each of the 30 students in the group brings 25 pens, this will make 750 pens. Every group will furnish 3,000 and every year of study 15 or even 18 thousand pens. And this only in one academic division! It just scares me go on calculating. I will never know why they need so many pens. Maybe, they intended to sell them and thus get rich or, maybe, to build toy houses out of them during breaks - but not to write with, for how can one write so much in their lifetime? Of course, they could have just asked us to fetch money. If you assess it in the ‘pen equivalent’ and assume that one pen costs one hryvnia on the average, this will produce a handsome amount. But it is now that I have calculated, and at that moment I was very resentful but eventually brought those pens over. But we were told: either you bring pens or you will have problems at the exam. I resented this because I was doing very well even without those pens.”

COMMENTARIES

Ihor PASICHNYK, Professor, Doctor of Psychology; Rector, National University of Ostroh Academy:

“It is a gross exaggeration to claim that corruption is rampant in higher educational institutions. I think there are a lot of fields in this country, where this phenomenon really occurs. Corruption has swept all over Ukraine. In this psychological atmosphere, people consider material well-being and pursuit for money their main goal. As for corruption in universities, one should think over the factors that cause it. Undoubtedly, the main cause is that teachers are lowly paid. There is no corruption in the West because teachers earn well enough to live a decent life. It is hard to imagine in Ukraine that a doctor of sciences, a professors, to say nothing of teacher without a doctoral degree, can afford to buy an apartment or a car. So one of the infallible methods of sleaze control is increasing the salary of teachers. The pay should be sufficient for one to feel confidently and, consequently, not to take bribes. Among other methods of corruption control in higher educational institutions is also the introduction of a certificate-based system of school-leavers’ knowledge evaluation, which drastically reduces the possibility of an unfair admission to university. Serving the same purpose is integration of Ukrainian education with the Bologna process, especially the introduction of written tests unless, of course, the specific nature of an exam test requires that it be done orally. This innovation will naturally preclude a teacher from assessing the student’s knowledge unfairly. In my opinion, very much depends on the teacher’s personal characteristics. If his or her moral and spiritual level is high enough, he or she will not allow themselves to take bribes, and their behavior and knowledge will only help form not only a top-class expert but also a conscientious and tolerant personality. There is also such a sore point in our higher educational institutions, which leads to corruption, as proposals from certain firms to write student’s term papers and degree theses. The media and the Internet abound in such adverts. I wonder why the law-enforcement bodies are turning a blind eye to these firms, for the adverts even include the addresses to turn to. Unfortunately, some students make use of these services and do not study scholarly sources on their own. The National University of Ostroh Academy has always been keeping corruption at bay. Since the moment the academy was revived, it has looked on bribery as a most unforgivable sin. We keep a close watch on this and, thank God, neither the faculty nor the students even think about bribes. We know this because we regularly hold anonymous polls, and the rector has a box for complaints and proposals. However, it is not as good elsewhere as it is at Ostroh Academy. Much to our regret, the Ukrainian educational practice has inherited many traditions of ‘mutual assistance’ from the Soviet Union, while we began to restart our institution from a scratch and to establish own democratic traditions. As long ago as 1995 we borrowed from the National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy and introduced test-based entrance exams. We have also been inviting an external examination board from Kyiv Mohyla Academy, which has actually been enrolling entrants. So neither the rector nor the faculty of our university have been involved in the admission procedure. Admission competitions allow Ostroh Acva­demy to select the students who are capable of mastering one academic subject or another on their own without provoking any facts of corruption. Un­doub­tedly, the example of our university amply proves that a present-day higher educational institution in Uk­raine can well do without corruption.”

Viacheslav BRIUKHOVETSKY, ex-president, National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy:

“I have never been taking any special measures. I am strongly convinced that everything depends on the top administrator. I do not believe that if you are head of any kind of entity, you cannot eradicate corruption in it. As soon as our academy began to function in 1991, I took the following stand: there can be no corruption here and even the slightest manifestations of it will be punishable. This is why we have never drawn up any special measures. There were two instances in the beginning, when somebody brought something somewhere. I immediately dismissed those two persons. It was common knowledge. I will stress that it was only an attempt to get a bribe, and we thus nipped this practice in the bud. This dismissal may have been not so flawless from the juridical point of view, but those people went because they knew that it would be difficult for them to work in this collective. I think it was a very instructive event. Besides, one must give students the freedom of visiting online student forums. When asked how I know that there is no corruption, I say that there are several websites and students would have written there about some irregularities, all the more so that they can use pen names now in contrast to the times when I was a journalist. If there had been even the slightest attempt of corruption, this would have been posted on the Web in 20 minutes’ time. Than God, this has not happened over all the past years, so I do believe there is no corruption at Mohyla. I would advise rectors not to create a situation when there is a temptation to get a bribe. Avoid such situations, and there will be no bribery in the university.”

Nadia DOBIDOVSKA, chief expert, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education and Science, Ukraine:

“As far as combating corruption and bribery is concerned, the Ministry of Education is guided by the laws of Ukraine ‘On Corruption Control’ and ‘On Public Service,’ with due account of the Cabinet’s standard-setting instruments. We also closely cooperate with central government bodies, educational institutions, civic organizations, and the media. In the past two years we have tightened control over licensing and accreditation, and we have been thoroughly inspecting educational institutions. The prevention of corruption and bribery has been repeatedly discussed at the ministry, at the conferences of education executives, and at the sessions of school and university academic boards. To promote transparency and democratic spirit in educational institutions, we have drafted a provision on the procedure of reports by heads of day care facilities, secondary and vocational schools to collectives and the publics. The Ministry of Education, together with the Education Ministry of the Crimea and regional educational authorities, is explaining to the public that it is unlawful for schools to demand any monetary contribution, as well as charitable donations, from school pupils’ parents. The same explanation is being given to university students and applicants. The ministry is trying to ensure impartiality, openness and democratic spirit during entrance tests and the admission process. In 2003 the ministry introduced independent external subject-wise assessment of school-leavers’ knowledge. This is also aimed at preventing corruption in university admissions. In 2008, independent evaluation has been applied throughout Ukraine. Practice shows that this has improved combating bribery in university admissions. The public has highly appreciated the external assessment, and almost 90 percent of the school-leavers were satisfied with the campaign. As it is impossible to follow every step of educationalists, we have sent letters to the regional educational authorities and heads of educational institutions of all levels of accreditation, in which we request them to explain to students and teachers the necessity of preventing corruption and bribery. We also hold conferences with rectors and admission board secretaries on this subject twice a year - before the admission campaign and the winter examination period. We have set up a consultative hot line which about 1,500 people used in 2006-2008. We also form a task force during the admission campaign and examination periods. Besides, we have created a resource for applicants, which can help verify the authenticity of higher education diplomas. To prevent bribery and corruption and to take account of public opinion on the improvement of bribery control, the Ministry of Education has established a civic board and a civic council.”