THE SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN UKRAINE
Present - day independent Ukraine has got a rather developed system of education. General secondary education is free and compulsory. The secondary school has three stages: primary, basic and senior. Later there appeared a new type of schools: gymnasiums, lyceums and private schools. The secondary school must secure a unifonn level of knowledge, necessary for each student. An important part in the educational system is played by qualifications.
Post - secondary education is provided by technical schools, colleges and institution of higher learning: universities, academies, institutes, conservatories. At each higher educational establishment there is a post - graduate course with postgraduates, working for their scientific degrees. Almost all higher schools provide part-time, extra-mural and full time education. There are many scientific educational and academic centers in Ukraine famous not only in our country but also abroad. It becomes a wide-spicad practice to invite lecturers from the leading higher educational establishments from abroad to lecture at Ukraine's academies and universities. There have been taken place considerable changes in reforming the system of education as a whole. There are four higher educational levels of consequently four levels of accreditation of higher schools. Higher school of the first two levels of accrediting have the right to train junior specialists. The institutions of the third and fourth levels of accrediting have the right to train both bachelors and masters of science.
The course of studies to get the degree of the Bachelor lasts for four years. To become a specialist or a Master of science the students have to study one-two years more. The education may be free of charge or for fee. Students who study at higher schools according to state order do not pay fee for their studying and get state scholarship. Other students who study according to contract have to pay fee and do not receive scholarship. In recent years alongside with existing state higher educational establishments there appeared a lot of different private higher schools. At present plenty of higher schools are developing the system of distance education. All it gives the youth the opportunity to choose higher educational establishment they prefer and the speciality they would like to gain.
Nowadays Ukraine numbers a total of more than 200 higher educational establishments (161 of them are state owned) with 1.5 million college and University students.
Graduates from the Ukrainian institutions of higher learning may become scholars, famous writers, physicists, chemists, doctors, diplomats, lawyers, economists, mathematicians, philologists, etc.
Today there can be seen a complicated process of approaching the system of education in Ukraine to the European standards. An increasing number of qualified specialists graduate from higher educational establishments for working in industry, farming and culture.