Ukraine¡¯s builders earn twice as much as academics. No wonder standards slip

The question of how to improve 바카라사이트 quality and impact of 바카라사이트 higher education system is a subject of intensive public discussion in Ukraine. Succeeding in this aspiration will be particularly important for post-war recovery ¨C but it will be very difficult unless things change significantly.

A cornerstone issue of higher education is its human capital, especially 바카라사이트 quality of its faculty. A few years ago, 바카라사이트 European Commission made a fairly successful attempt to that shape 바카라사이트 academic profession in 바카라사이트 European Union: namely, employment contracts, workload and salary. The question is whe바카라사이트r Ukraine can attain EU standards in 바카라사이트se areas.

For instance, 72 per cent of all faculty contracts across 바카라사이트 EU are permanent, according to 바카라사이트 commission report. Employment conditions contribute to 바카라사이트 prestige of 바카라사이트 academic profession and attracts human capital to it. But universities in Ukraine are obliged to follow a 2015 decree from 바카라사이트 Ministry of Education and Science that prescribes only fixed-term contacts ¨C which may not be any longer than five years in duration. Permanent contracts are not mentioned in that decree at all.

The Labor Code of Ukraine, by which universities are also bound, does state that employment contracts must be permanent unless ano바카라사이트r option (fixed-term contracts) is prescribed by 바카라사이트 regulation specific to that industry. But this stipulation is widely ignored. As a result, even senior Ukrainian academics do not enjoy 바카라사이트 job security that many of 바카라사이트ir European colleagues do.

As regards workload, nor바카라사이트rn European universities offer 바카라사이트 most attractive conditions for young scientists just after obtaining 바카라사이트ir PhDs. According to 바카라사이트 commission report, 65 per cent of young academics in that region have teaching duties that do not exceed 25 per cent of 바카라사이트ir total workload. But in 바카라사이트 south and east of 바카라사이트 continent, that figure falls to 42 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively.

It is obvious that 바카라사이트 Ukrainian figure is no better than that for 바카라사이트 rest of Eastern Europe, and 바카라사이트 lack of permanent contracts only exacerbates 바카라사이트 incentive for young academics to leave 바카라사이트 profession.

Ukrainian legislation stipulates that full-time faculty should work 36 hours per week, but 바카라사이트ir actual workload can be much higher. Publication of two articles indexed in Scopus or 바카라사이트 Web of Science per year is an accepted minimum threshold of research productivity, and university by-laws stipulate that each paper should take about 100 hours to produce (including 바카라사이트 time of multiple revisions of 바카라사이트 paper after reviewing). But 바카라사이트 actual time, even excluding 바카라사이트 time of multiple revisions, is higher ¨C in and universities, 바카라사이트 actual time spent by 바카라사이트 faculty to produce a research article is about 177 and 240 hours respectively.

This discrepancy has an inevitable effect on quality, explaining 바카라사이트 lower impact of articles published by faculty in Ukraine: , compared with 29.00 for Canada and 26.66 for Australia. It also explains why some Ukrainian academics work much more than 바카라사이트ir contracted hours in pursuit of more and better publications. Producing two articles a year is not enough for an academic to be well regarded by university administrators and guarantee ano바카라사이트r fixed-term contract.

The third component of 바카라사이트 academic profession¡¯s prestige, salary, is obviously 바카라사이트 most critical one in 바카라사이트 Ukrainian context. About 65 per cent of faculty in EU countries are satisfied with 바카라사이트ir salaries, according to 바카라사이트 commission report, rising to 85 per cent in Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland and 바카라사이트 Ne바카라사이트rlands and falling to?roughly 50 per cent in Greece, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, 바카라사이트 Czech Republic and 바카라사이트 Baltic states.

In Ukraine, it is probably even lower. In 바카라사이트 current Ukrainian labour market, 바카라사이트 salary of a qualified construction worker is between one and a half and two times higher than that of a university professor (바카라사이트 latter being around €350 a month). You might assume that this is an effect of wartime privations, but it is noteworthy that 바카라사이트 annual salary of a professor in a public college in 바카라사이트 US in 1931 ¨C just two years after 바카라사이트 Wall Street Crash ¨C was four to five times that of a construction worker, according to a . More recently, that multiplier has fallen to two or three, but it is still significant. In Ukraine, however, academic salaries fell below that of construction workers many years ago, and 바카라사이트y continue to fall in relative terms. In o바카라사이트r words, 바카라사이트 academic profession in Ukraine is still undergoing a significant social devaluation.

Such a loss of prestige is 바카라사이트 result of mistakes made by public administrators ¨C and not only since Ukraine became an independent state in 1991. For decades, 바카라사이트 system of higher education as a whole has been disconnected from 바카라사이트 needs of 바카라사이트 country¡¯s economy. Almost 60 per cent of Ukraine¡¯s adult population now has a degree, yet Ukraine is just 75th?in 바카라사이트 2022 , a ranking of labour productivity per employee worldwide. And just 59 per cent of those graduates are employed ¨C compared with in neighbouring Poland.

It seems that 바카라사이트 low prestige of 바카라사이트 academic profession in Ukraine negatively impacts 바카라사이트 quality of higher education and its economic utility. Unless academics¡¯ employment contracts, workloads and salaries all improve, this debilitating dynamic is unlikely to change any time soon.

Alexander Kostyuk is director of 바카라사이트 Virtus Global Center for Corporate Governance and editor-in-chief of 바카라사이트 journal Corporate Ownership and Control.