Education in Ukraine

My working day

Let me introduce myself. I am Ivan Dmitrenko. I am 25. I work as a mechanic at the plant and at the same time study at the National Technical University “Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute”. I am a first-year student of the Extramural Department. I am from Kharkiv.

Now, let me describe my usual working day. I must be at work at eight thirty. So, on weekdays I have to get up at half past seven. My alarm clock usually wakes me up and my working day begins. I do my morning exercises and take a shower. Then I have breakfast. I love to listen to the latest news on the radio while I am eating.

I leave the house at ten minutes to eight and walk to the nearest bus stop. I live rather far from the plant and it usually takes me about a quarter of an hour to get there by bus.

At twelve o’clock I have a break for lunch. I don’t take a packed lunch from home and prefer eat in the canteen.

I come back home at about 8 o’clock in the evening. I have supper. After supper I have coffee or tea and watch TV.

At about eleven p.m. I go to bed. I like to read something before going to bed or to listen to some music. Sometimes I fall asleep while I am reading.

And now I want to tell you a few words about my studies at the University. Two times a year I have a session examination. As a rule I have three or four lectures a day. I have to do the control tasks and pass exams in different subjects. I don’t miss my classes because I want to pass my examinations successfully. I go to the library to get ready for my practical classes or to write a report. As a rule I have no free time on weekdays. So, by the end of the week I get very tired.

UKRAINE

Ukraine is one of the largest countries of Eastern Europe. Its territory is larger than that of France. It is also one of the member-states who founded the United Nations Organization and signed its Charter at the San Francisco Conference in 1945. Located in the east of Europe, Ukraine occupies an area of 603,700 square kilometers. Its territory stretches for almost 900 kilometers from north to south and for 1300 kilometers from east to west. It has state borders with Russia, Byelarus and Moldova. It also borders on Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania.

The geographical position of Ukraine is favourable for the development of its relations with the countries of Europe and of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean Basins. Among the biggest Ukrainian rivers are the Dnieper, Dniester, Danube, Southern Bug and Siversky Donetz. Ukraine is washed by two seas: the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Plains and excellent chernozem territories occupy the largest part of Ukraine. There are only two mountainous areas in Ukraine – the Carpathians in the west and the Crimean Mountains in the south.

Since Ukraine lies mostly in the temperate zone, its climate is temperately continental, except Southern Crimea, where the climate is rather semi-tropical with Mediterranean evergreen trees.

Ukraine has a democratic political system. The form of governing is presidential republic. President is the head of the state. He is also the head of the executive branch of power. The legislative power is carried out by the Parliament called the Verkhovna Rada. The laws of the country are made by the members of the Parliament.

Ukraine has rich deposits of iron, and rare metals, coal, natural gas, oil, and other mineral resources – a good base for the development of industry. Recently rich deposits of gold have been found.

Conditions for the development of the economy are favourable. There are numerous enterprises in the fields of engineering, metallurgy, chemical engineering, coal mining, fuel production, light, heavy and food industries.

The population of Ukraine numbers about 48 million, three fourths of them are Ukrainians. The rest is made up of Russians, Jews, Poles, Byelorussians, Moldavians, Hungarians and other nationalities. Some 65 per cent of them live in the cities. There are 400 towns and cities in Ukraine. Five of them have population exceeding a million: Kiev, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Odessa, Dnipropetrovsk.

Kiev, the capital of Ukraine is one of the oldest and most beautiful cities in Eastern Europe. Kiev is the centre of political, economic, scientific and cultural life of the country.

Our country is rich in talents. It gave mankind many outstanding figures in different fields. Ukrainians are particularly proud of such famous writers, artists and scientists as Taras Shevchenko, Lesia Ukrainka, Ivan Franko, Mykhailo Hrushevsky, Mykola Lysenko and others.

Ukraine has more than 1000 institutions of higher learning of different levels of education. Above 1.5 million students study at those establishments. Among the best known higher educational establishments are Shevchenko Kiev National and Kharkiv National Universities, Lviv State University, Kharkiv Polytechnic University and many others.

The adoption in August 1991 of the Act of State Sovereignty of Ukraine enabled the Ukrainian people to play a more important role in the international process. On December 1, 1991 Ukraine's population declared its independence by over 90 per cent of vote in the referendum.

EDUCATION IN UKRAINE

Present-day independent Ukraine has inherited a rather developed system of education from the previous regime, which answers the standards of the developed countries.

General secondary education in Ukraine is free and compulsory. The basic link in the chain of public education in Ukraine is the "general education (grade) school". Each has three stages: primary /1^st – 4th grades/, basic /5-9 grades/ and senior /10-12 grades/. Secondary education begins at the age of 6-7 and children leave school at the age of 17-18. Nowadays there is a new type of schools in Ukraine: gymnasia/gymnasiums, and lycees.

Those senior students, who want to get qualification alongside the secondary education, can go to vocational training schools (colleges). There are about 1,800 vocational training schools providing almost 800 qualifications. In most of them the students are also taught to complete curriculum of secondary education.

Institutions of higher learning (higher educational establishments) include universities, academies, institutes and conservatories. They all hold entrance examinations to select the best applicants to be their students. But nowadays all the applicants have independent testing on the subjects chosen. And according to its result they are adopted to the higher schools. Among the best known higher educational establishments there are Shevchenko Kyiv National University, Kyiv Polytechnic University, International Independent University "Kyiv-Mohyla Academy", Kyiv State Conservatory, Lviv State University, Kharkiv National University, Kharkiv State Pedagogical University, Kharkiv State Polytechnic University and many others. The university graduate receives a diploma of specialist and Master of Science.

Post graduate education begins after the last year of studies and usually results in theses on the chosen scientific topic and the degree of the Candidate of Science. Doctorate Degree is awarded for an outstanding scientific research.