Kyiv Slavic University: expenses and losses the way of becoming

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Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine

Kyiv Slavic University: expenses and losses the way of becoming

Nadiia Kuzmenko, DSc (Ped.), Prof.

Background

In the example of Kyiv Slavic University, one of the leading institutions of higher education in the humanitarian profile for the study of languages, culture, and history of the Slavic peoples, the place and role of privately owned higher education institutions in the higher education system of Ukraine in the period of its formation in the 90s is determined 20th century - at the beginning of the 21st century.

The article is deals with the analysis to the illumination of the history of organization, formation and development of a higher educational institution of state form of ownership the Kyiv Slavic University. The stages of formation of the university are considered: from the constituent assembly of the founders of the NGO "Kyiv Slavic University" in November 1992 until the end of 2016-2017 (the period of stable development) at the Kiev Slavic University.

The purpose and tasks of the article are to determine the stages of formation of Kyiv Slavic University, as well as the analysis of achievements and losses on the way of its development. The legislative and legal basis of the organization of the institution of higher education of private ownership in the conditions of independent Ukraine, the priority areas of activity were studied and analyzed, and the emphasis was placed on the development of Slavic studies as a leading field of educational services of the university.

Results. The international relations of the Kyiv Slavic University, established for fruitful cooperation with European universities, were analyzed, and the possible trends of the further development of the institution of higher education were predicted. The achievements and losses of the university in the way of its formation are analyzed. Among the losses is the lack of a university development strategy and gross mistakes in its management.

Conclusions. The key and the main condition for the preservation of higher education in Ukraine is a deep, comprehensive reform. This is an extremely difficult task.

Keywords: university, Kyiv Slavic University, higher education, private ownership, international cooperation, European educational space, Slavic studies.

Надія Кузьменко, д-р пед. наук, проф.

Київський національний університет імені Тараса Шевченка, Київ, Україна

Київський славістичний університет: досягнення та помилки на шляху становлення

Анотація

history slavic university

Вступ. На прикладі Київського славістичного університету, одного із провідних закладів вищої освіти гуманітарного профілю з вивчення мов, культури та історії слов'янських народів, досліджено місце й роль закладів вищої освіти приватної форми власності у секторі вищої школи освітньої системи України в період з 90-х рр. ХХ ст. - початку ХХІ ст. у напрямі західноєвропейської інтеграції.

Присвячена аналізу висвітлення історії організації, становлення й розвитку закладу вищої освіти державної форми власності Київського славістичного університету. Розглянуто етапи становлення університету: від установчих зборів засновників ГО "Київський славістичний університет" у листопаді 1992 р. до кінця 2016-2017 рр. (період стабільного розвитку) у Київському славістичному університеті.

Метою і завданнями статті є визначення етапів становлення Київського славістичного університету, а також аналіз досягнень і втрат на шляху його розвитку. Досліджено та проаналізовано законодавчу і правову основу організації вищого навчального закладу приватної форми власності в умовах незалежної України, пріоритетні напрями діяльності, наголошено на розвитку славістики як провідного напряму, освітні послуги університету.

Результати. Проаналізовано міжнародні зв'язки Київського славістичного університету, які налагоджені для плідної співпраці з університетами Європи, спрогнозовано можливі тенденції подальшого розвитку вищого навчального закладу. Розглядаються досягнення та втрати університету на шляху його становлення. Серед помилок - відсутність стратегії розвитку університету та грубі помилки у його управлінні.

Висновки. Ключовою й головною умовою збереження вищої освіти в Україні є глибока, комплексна реформа. Це надзвичайно складне завдання.

Ключові слова: університет, Київський славістичний університет, вища освіта, приватна власність, міжнародне співробітництво, європейський освітній простір, славістика.

Background

It is well known that the very idea of the university as an educational institution was the subject of discussions of the most prominent philosophers, teachers, and writers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. - Humboldt, Heidegger, Jose Ortega Gassetta, Umberto Eco and others. All of them converge in the fact that the university primarily functions as a legitimate national education, in general science, scientific knowledge. Modern universities have changed considerably in particular in Ukraine. The proclamation of the independence of the Ukrainian state actualizes the role of universities in the legitimization of its titular nation through education.

In the early 90s of the 20th century, the domestic education system underwent significant changes, in particular, higher education institutions expanded their network at the expense of the private sector. Privately owned universities have occupied a certain niche in the higher education system. Today, a private higher school is a full-fledged part of the national education system, but at the stage of formation, like any new phenomenon, they had certain successes and certain failures. The analysis of university education under the conditions of private ownership is important for the improvement of the educational sphere in the conditions of reform and entry into the European educational space.

The idea of the creation of the Kyiv Slavonic University one of the leading private owned higher educational institutions is an attempt to preserve the historical traditions of the university as a center for scientific, educational and educational activities of general cultural value for the development of the state.

Literature review

From the first days of the formation of the Kyiv Slavonic University has scientific and educational activities remain the subject of close attention both in the Ukrainian and in the foreign educational space. Evidence for this may be at least an almanac "Kyiv Slavic University: the first decade", in which the speeches of the extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassadors of the Slavic states accredited in Ukraine, to the students and teachers of the KSU, and scientific publications in Ukrainian (Aleksieiev, 2013; Z litopysu Kyivskoho, 2013, p. 12-15; Kyivskyi slavistychnyi, 2013, p. 3-4) and foreign professional editions (Kuzmenko, 2017, p. 12-15).

However, in comparison with other higher educational institutions of Ukraine, the Kyiv Slavic University is deprived of the attention of historians of pedagogical science. In particular, there were still no special works in pedagogy that would analyze the history of organization, formation and development of the Kyiv Slavic University.

Consequently, the relevance of the article is due to the objective need for careful study of the issue, as well as the lack of publications devoted to the comprehension of the topic.

The purpose of the article is to highlight the genesis of the organization and formation of the Kyiv Slavic University and on this basis an analysis of achievements and losses, as well as the determination of the main directions of its further development.

Presentation of the main research material

The transformation of the education industry in Ukraine has led to the objective need to create an alternative education sector. Among its positive aspects is internal freedom autonomy and the ability to provide exactly the educational services that are most needed in modern conditions: teaching foreign languages in conjunction with the preparation of a new generation of specialists in important industries etc.

Competition and the desire to win a new market of services the use of contract engagement of lecturers has led to the fact that these educational institutions were the best professors and associate professors. In addition the sincere desire to achieve maximum results encourages teachers to expand their knowledge through the use of international information sources, to invent more effective methods of teaching new disciplines, courses and programs in modern specialties.

Private educational institutions, as experience shows, including foreign countries, is an indicator of what society needs, they are a kind of channel through which state institutions of higher education receive an impetus for an update. Thus the private higher education sector appeared as a response to the acute needs of life as a public response in Ukraine.

The conquest of Ukraine as an independent state before the beginning of the new 1991-1992 school year. The fate of the USSR history departments which was known to have played a leading role in the historical and other humanities faculties has been resolved. Of course, in the collectives of the chairs, discussions began, long and hot discussions. For the most part they went in two ways: to edit the name the "sign" of the department, leaving everything unchanged, or, conversely, to go through fundamental changes based on preserving the new content of education.

All departments of the history of the USSR in Ukraine were simultaneously renamed and converted into departments of the history of the Slavic peoples. Did this solve the problem of chairs? No it was not. The dilemma remained, because the staffing of the departments, in essence, remained unchanged, but the task was to change the content of teaching, the structure of personnel, and so on. Again and again there were sharp discussions that had little effect on the matter. There would not be enough volitional decisions. The urgency of creating a university as a Slavic center stemmed from the fact that Ukraine had no scientific institution that was clearly oriented to Slavic studies and Balkan studies. With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the acquisition of sovereignty by Ukraine, it turned out that all the Slavic studies centers were now in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Once institutions such as the Institute of Slavic Studies and the Balkan Studies of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR not only developed the Slavic themes themselves, but also coordinated relevant research in Ukraine and Belarus. Probably it was not very good under those conditions. A republic like Ukraine should have educational and research institutions specializing in the history and culture of the Slavs.

From now on, as a Slavic state, the capital of which at one time was the center of the Eastern Slavs, Ukraine could not abstract from the Slavic countries due to its sovereign status. "Such institutions are extremely necessary not for a better understanding of the Slavic world, one of the largest in Europe but also for the knowledge of ourselves" (Origins and prospects, 2013, p. 22).

Specialist's public figures of not only Ukraine but also other states participated in the development of the idea and the creation of the first structures of the future institution of a new type. The initiative group included Y. Alekseev, R. Garenchar (Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Slovakia to Ukraine), I. Lubchenko, J. Migash (advisor to the Embassy of Slovakia in Ukraine), V. Oskolsky, A. Tikhonov and others. The initiative group from the very beginning of its activity was actively supported by the vice president of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine academician Petro Tolochko.

An important milestone was the establishment of the public scientific and methodical bulletin "Tutor" in October 1992, whose purpose was to popularize new ideas in education, new technologies private educational institutions. "Tutor" tried through the printed word to continue the discussion about educational problems.

The constituent assembly of the founders of the NGO "Kyiv Slavic University" was held in a solemn atmosphere at the premises of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in November 1992. Collective members were: National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Ukrainian Stock Exchange, Youth Committee of Kyiv City State Administration, Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine and a number of other organizations. The Department of Justice in Kyiv hosted a state registration of a new educational institution, which, after a state license, was named the Kyiv Institute "Slavic University" (KIS) in 25-th of November, 1993.

Newly formed higher educational institution was consecrated by Archimandrite Seraphim on 10-th of January, 1994. The first lecture was read by the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Slovakia to Ukraine Robert Garenchar for the students of the Faculty of Pre University Preparation and senior pupils of the Kiev schools. The faculty of pre-university training began the academic year.

These were difficult times. The left wing policies criticized the founders for the fact that the higher educational institution is commercial, right-wing radicals for the name "Slavic University".

It was difficult for many to understand the research needed for a young Ukrainian state in the field of Slavic studies, and the training of specialists oriented to work in a market environment. And the main thing it was a bridge, which connected the neighbouring Slavic states among themselves. A very important and crucial step in the creation of a new educational institution was the time for the preparation of curricula and plans, on the basis of which the license of the Ministry of Education of Ukraine was to be obtained. The main goal of the KIS was to train specialists to work in a market environment. The Ministry of Education of Ukraine granted the educational institution a license for the right to carry out educational activities.

The first set of students came to the audience. For them the working weekdays began for the collective the further laborious and hard work on the realization of the goal. Despite the difficulties, enthusiasm reinforced concrete results in the development of the university. Already in June 1995 the Ministry of Education of Ukraine granted the educational institution a license for retraining specialists with a second higher education and advanced training. In the following months, KISU's branches were opened to Mykolaiv and Rivne, a language school for studying Slavic, Balkan and Romance languages as part of the university.

In the Kyiv Slavic University (named after a higher educational establishment in 2000) in close co-operation with academic institutions the Slavic and Balkan Studies faculties, economics and management began their activities. Leading scientists from Ukraine and abroad were involved in teaching. Later in cooperation with the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine the Ukrainian Centre for International Education and the Ukrainian Stock Exchange, an experimental educational program "New Generation" was launched; on the basis of the University, the Ukrainian State Slavonic Centre of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine were created; open postgraduate study, and subsequently doctoral studies from five specialties: history of Ukraine (07.00.01), world history (07.00.02), historiography, source study and special historical disciplines (07.00.06), Ukrainian literature (10.01.01), Slavic languages (10.02.03).

There was a specialized academic council for the defence of theses for the degree of candidate and doctor of historical sciences. Kyiv Slavic University carried out the first issue of masters in June 2003. Famous Slavic scholars have been united around the university. Academicians of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine P. Tolochko, V. Smoliy, M. Popovich, V. Naulko, M. Kotlyar, doctors of sciences, professors V. Kuzmenko, G. Nadtoka, Ivan and Elza Stoyanov, S. Kulchytsky, V. Speedboats and many others.

Teachers from other European countries worked here: professors A. Mshtyan (Czech Republic), G. Gochev, N.Velikov (Bulgaria), K. Tchaikovsky, B. Bakula (Poland), J. Abenzour (France), B. Dankvist (Sweden)) etc. The lectures were attended by the Consul General of the Republic of Poland in Kyiv Dr. K. Hitz, the first secretary of the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Kiev, M. M. Gronek, the first secretary of the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Kyiv, D. Danchev and others. As noted after these meetings, the students, the experience of communicating with the ambassadors and staff of the embassies of the countries whose languages they study will become invaluable to them in the future.

The university has a scientific library, a publishingeditorial centre, a printing site. Kyiv Slavic University is the founder and publisher of the Kiev old fashioned magazine which in 1882 was a printed organ of the Kiev Old Community; Journal "University", scientific journal "Bulletin of the Kiev Slavonic University" (Series: "Philology", "History") and "Bulgarian Yearbook", as well as student newspaper " Beast".

At the same time, there was an active process of establishing effective contacts with foreign educational and educational institutions. Among the 17 foreign partner universities higher educational institutions in Bulgaria, Belarus, the UK, Poland, Russia, France, the Czech Republic and Sweden. The KSU has been practicing the exchange of students from the universities of Halmstad (Sweden), collaborated with the Anglo European School of English in Bournemouth. Students of the Kyiv Slavic University held annual language training and internships in foreign educational institutions.

The University maintained close scientific contacts with the central universities of the countries of Eastern Europe and the Balkan region, was a member of the European Association of International Education. At the end of 20092010, In the KSU and its branches there were more than 12 thousand students. As part of the teaching staff there were 49 doctors of sciences, professors and about 200 candidates of sciences, associate professors. It was the highest indicator of the quantitative and qualitative staff of the university and one of the best indicators among the higher educational institutions of Ukraine next 2010-2011. The city was marked by a massive outflow of teachers as well as a catastrophic decline in student collections for all specialties in the KSU. With every new school year the situation worsened. At the end of 2016-2017. There are currently only 400 students studying in all specialties at the university, and the teaching staff has decreased to two dozen teachers several doctors of science of aging and candidates of sciences, mainly pensioners.

The analysis showed that the absence of a university development strategy by its owner and at the same time the president of the KSU Y.M. Alekseyev as well as the chronic gross mistakes in his management activities, led to the absence of a strategy for the university. Neglecting the opinion of the team, in particular, the decisions of the Academic Council of the University, Y.M. Alekseyev did not invest in the development of a higher educational institution and its affiliates: no construction of either the main building of the university, the residential building for teachers not the hostel for students was started.

Instead in times another economic crisis room owners at A. Barbusse Street, 9, where the main educational building of the university was located, raised the rent for the training area. The KSU having not received the required number of its own audiences was unable to pay a new lease price and therefore had to leave office in the center of Kiev and move to the sleeping area of the city into other leased premises. In addition, the salaries of teachers were negligible and then paid irregularly. All this negatively affected the University's image and as a consequence, the subsequent sets of students.

Results

The key and the main condition for the preservation of higher education in Ukraine is a deep, comprehensive reform. This is an extremely difficult task.

Discussion and conclusions

The solvation of educational problems facing Ukraine today is impossible without a thorough analysis of the activities of its higher educational institutions including private universities such as the Kyiv Slavic University. The experience of its formation and development shows that private educational institutions can provide high-quality education at the level of world standards. However, the state should assist such universities in their activities: first of all, preferential taxation, and rent for the rented premises which should be much lower than that paid by commercial entities.

Student loans are still not resolved. The KSU and other private universities are looking for solutions to this problem, but the state must actually and not declaratively support young people who do not have sufficient means to study. However, it is very necessary to solve it. Because of only a higher school based on world experience can save many centuries of Ukrainian educational traditions, can ensure the reproduction and development of the intellectual potential of the country and ultimately a worthy place in the world community.

References

1. Alekseev, Yu.M. (2013). Kyiv Slavic University - center of development of Slavic studies in Ukraine. Bulletin of Kyiv Slavic University. Series: History, 15, 5-9 [in Ukrainian]. [Алексеев, Ю.М. (2013). Київський славістичний університет - осередок розвитку слов'янознавства в Україні. Вісник Київського славістичного університету. Серія: Історія, 15, 5-9].

2. Alekseev, Y.M. (2015). Almanac. Kyiv Slavic University: the first decade, 2 [in Ukrainian]. [Алексєєв, Ю.М. (2015). Альманах. Київський славістичний університет: перше десятиріччя, 2].

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4. From the annals of Kyiv Slavic University (materials prepared by Diana Larionova). (2013). Native school, 10, 12-15 [in Ukrainian]. [З літопису Київського славістичного університету (матеріали підготувала Діана Ларіонова). (2013). Рідна школа, 10, 12-15].

5. Kyiv Slavic School: ten years of formation (Interview with the President of the University Yury Alekseev). (2003). Native schoo, 10(885), 3-4 [in Ukrainian]. [Київський славістичний: десять років становлення (Інтерв'ю з Президентом університету Юріем Алексеевим). (2003). Рідна школа, 10(885), 3-4].

6. Kuzmenko, V.I. (2007). Slavic problematics as an integrating basis of research and educational activities of the Kyiv Slavic University. (2007). These reports of representatives of the Ukrainian delegation at the scientific Serbian-Slavic forum, 12-15 [in Ukrainian]. [Кузьменко, В.І. (2007). Слов'янська проблематика як інтегруюча основа науково-дослідної та освітньої діяльності Київського славістичного університету. Тези доповідей представників української делегації на науковому сербсько-слов'янському форумі, 12-15].

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