Ukraine: Endemic Higher Education Corruption

Abstract

administrative measures intended to give the government direct control over international education, which it previously could not influence through traditional methods (i.e., by cutting public subsidies). Continuous Attacks on Academic FreedomThis legislative amendment is the most recent policy initiative targeting academic freedom in the country. Previously, the Hungarian government has employed similar tactics in order to diminish the influence of public universities in the country. In 2014, another amendment to the national higher education law gave the prime minister the power to appoint chancellors with executive financial responsibilities at public universities. As a result, the power of rectors has been relegated solely to the academic sphere. This arrangement was reinforced by a 2015 amendment to the higher education law, which delegates strategic planning for medium-and long-term goals to university-level advisory bodies mainly comprised of representatives of the national government. The official rationale behind these amendments was to improve the efficiency of publicly funded universities. However, such policies have in fact reduced institutional autonomy and allowed the government to have direct control over university operations.

Review of the Education Sector in Ukraine

“…For instance, engineers often have to pass exams in the history of Ukraine in their first year. 75 Hence, students, particularly those that were less well-prepared in the first place, often feel overwhelmed, and with little motivation in the subject, may seek alternative means to get good grades. Additionally, students who live in dormitories are more likely to resort to cheating.…”

“…Additionally, students who live in dormitories are more likely to resort to cheating. 76 Many dormitories do not guarantee quiet study places, and they cultivate a culture of sharing in the context of communal living. This appears to contribute to the normalization of academic misconduct in Ukraine.…”

The effects of anti-corruption videos on attitudes toward corruption in a Ukrainian online survey

“…Indeed, a range of (in contrast to our paper non-experimental) studies stresses the high level of corruption in all areas in the country, including oligarchic state capture (cf. Åslund 2009, 2014a, 2014bBalmaceda 2013;Wilson 2005Wilson , 2014Melnykovska 2015;Pleines 2016) as well as some other problematic issues in business and politics (Leipnik and Kyrychenko 2013;Rojansky 2014;Denisova-Schmidt and Prytula 2017), academic dishonesty, including cheating, bribery and other unethical issues among students, faculty members administration, and other stakeholders (Osipian 2008(Osipian , 2010(Osipian , 2017Round, Williams and Rodgers 2008;Zaloznaya 2012;Round and Rodgers 2009;Shaw, Katsaiti, and Pecoraro 2015;Klein 2017;Polese et al 2018), and other areas of petty and grand corruption (Neutze and Karatnycky 2007, Åslund 2014a, Kuzio 2015Roberts and Orttung 2015;Prytula et al 2019) and challenges in the implementation of anticorruption measures and reforms (Grødeland 2010;Nasuti 2016). The results of a 2017 mass-population survey 1 (n = 6000) suggest that Ukrainians do not believe that the following practices spoil the good development of a society: bringing presents "to obtain access to health services" (63.7%) or "to be accepted at a good school" (74%) and "paying fees to have documents sorted out quickly" (73.7%).…”

Anti-Corruption Education at Technical University

“…Changes in higher education's role in improving the level of incorruption culture require not only the changes in universities as public institutions. They also require the changes in students' and scientists' attitude because the famous universities' problem related to corruption is academic dishonesty (Denisova-Schmidt & Prytula, 2017).…”

“…Main corruption risks in educational system of Ukraine have been investigated by Osipan, 2007;Shaw et al, 2014;Ivashchuk & Radzikhovska, 2016;Denisova-Schmidt & Prytula, 2017.…”