Foreword

The OECD Reviews of Integrity in Education: Ukraine 2017 identifies integrity risks and violations in the education sector, with the aim of spurring discussion and reflection, and identifying policy pointers that will permit further improvements to the integrity in education in Ukraine. This work builds upon similar integrity assessments previously undertaken in support of education authorities elsewhere, including in Serbia and Tunisia.

This integrity review examines key integrity challenges in Ukraine’s education system. It identifies policy shortcomings that create incentives for integrity violations, and open opportunities for schools, teachers and families to act on these incentives. The integrity review presents policy options to reduce the risk of integrity violations and restore public trust in a merit-based education system that provides equal opportunities for all. The primary audience of this report are policy makers, opinion leaders and educators in Ukraine.

The integrity violations analysed in this report were identified through consultations with key stakeholders from government and civil society organisations throughout Ukraine. These areas of focus were chosen for examination because they are integrity problems that are widespread, entrenched, systemic and important to the citizens of Ukraine, and they span the nation’s education sector from early childhood education and care through to higher education. The findings and recommendations in this report are the work of an OECD review team comprised of Andrew McQueen (OECD), Kateryna Obvintseva (OECD), Tünde Kovács-Cerovic´ (University of Belgrade), Caroline Macready (independent consultant), Mihaylo Milovanovitch (Center for Applied Policy), and Muriel Poisson (International Institute for Educational Planning, IIEP-UNESCO). Mihaylo Milovanovitch served as rapporteur for the review team.

The analysis of the review team is based upon a review of the legal and regulatory framework of Ukraine; collection and analysis of education data; site visits to education institutions; and focus groups with students, teachers and administrators in five regions of Ukraine. Site visits were undertaken in October and November 2015. In March 2016, the team held a seminar in Kyiv to present initial findings to a range of stakeholders and build consensus on ways to address the key challenges.

The OECD Reviews of Integrity in Education: Ukraine 2017 was financed by the Open Society Foundations Education Support Program and Eurasia Program Reserve Fund, under the direction of Kate Lapham, ESP Senior Program Manager, and Olena Sydorenko-Szabo, ESP Program Officer, working in partnership with the International Renaissance Foundation (Ukraine) and the Institute of Education Development (Ukraine). Both Ms. Lapham and Ms. Sydorenko-Szabo also provided very helpful comments on the report. The OECD wishes to thank IIEP-UNESCO for making available the participation of Muriel Poisson, who brought the IIEP’s long-standing knowledge and expertise in the field of ethics and corruption in education to this work.

The OECD review team wishes to thank especially the national and regional education authorities of Ukraine; civil society organisations; and school leaders, teachers, students and parents, with whom it met, for sharing their time and insights. Olena Zaplotynska of the Institute for Education Development provided logistical and substantive support throughout the entire integrity review process. Yegor Stadny and Iryna Kogut gave invaluable feedback in the final stages of this work.

Within the OECD Secretariat, the preparation of the report was co-ordinated by Thomas Weko with analytical support from Kateryna Obvintseva. Helpful comments and advice were provided by the Directorate for Education and Skills (Paulo Santiago); the Directorate for Enterprise and Financial Affairs (Olga Savran, Olga Olson, Andrii Kukharuk); the Directorate for Public Governance and Territorial Development (Adam Ostry, Yukihiko Hamada); and the Global Relations Secretariat (William Tompson, Gabriela Miranda). Christine Pizziol-Grière provided editorial support for the production of this publication. Célia Braga-Schich and Eleonore Morena provided administrative and editorial support to the project.

This report is the responsibility of the OECD review team. While the team benefitted greatly from contributions by national experts and documents provided by Ukraine’s Ministry of Education and Science, as well as meetings with a wide range of stakeholders, any errors or misinterpretations in this report are its responsibility.