On March 15, 2004 the general meeting of SSU students and the Rector was conducted

On March 15, 2004 at 12.45 the general meeting of SSU students and the Rector was conducted in the SSU conference hall.

The student rector's office initiated the meeting. The agenda was joining up of three Sumy universities. This question didn't leave the SSU students cold that was confirmed by live forum discussion on http://sumy-bespredel.narod.ru/.

Lyudmyla S. Levchenko, vice-rector on educational work and Ihor O. Kovalyov, Rector spoke at the meeting.

The meeting objective was to inform the students about the changes which are now taking place in the system of the higher education in general and in Sumy in particular.

The situation demanded explanation of the present changes. SSU Rector, faculty deans, trade union committee, lecturers, extracurricular department representatives were present at the meeting.

L.S. Levchenko says that the problem of reorganization of the Ukrainian higher education consists in the decision: to join up or not to join up. The answer is evident: to join up. In February 2004 the President of Ukraine signed the decree about higher education reorganization in Ukraine. It concerns not only Sumy but other cities of Ukraine: Cherkassy, Chernihiv, and even Kyiv. There are projects of the joining certain educational establishments. All Sumy universities approved the joining up proposition. As for Sumy, three universities will be united on equal terms. They are: Sumy State University, Sumy State Pedagogical University and Sumy National Agrarian University.

Rector I.O. Kovalyov emphasizes that there are no decisions about braking up yet. The universities will be united with their full complements – all chairs, all faculties, all specialties.

Three stages were singled out.

At the present moment the problem is solved through unification.

The next stage is a signed decree by the President. Then the Minister's of education on procedure questions defining an acting Rector. The candidature of an acting rector is still unknown. The commission will be formed to work out the united university's regulations and other documents. This stage will include all grounded propositions as to the name, statuses, structures of the universities which are reorganized. All propositions will be considered and the decision will be made establishing the future Sumy National University.

The last stage – Rector's elections.

As L.S. Levchenko says to students that the university administration doesn't want to conceal something. The relations are always built on democratic basis. At the present moment it concerns the questions that are to be solved by administration and staff. Students' role is further. It's not the time to organize mass-meetings.

The Rector also emphasizes that every university is working out its own propositions. Our university will work as usual. The changes will happen later, of course. But they must be made to improve the work.

Hence, a lot of details haven't been defined yet. What is needed is time.

You can read the fragments of the rector's speech on the official site.

You can also e-mail your questions to the university administration.

The rector got to know the forum discussion and built his speech on the singling out of the main moments that were presented in it.

"1 moment – our students' attitude towards unification"

Universities unification is an objective process. Our task is to make this process productive.

The thesis "Against unification" will not be accepted because it doesn't correspond to the progressive process of higher education reforming in Ukraine.

2 moment – our students are worried about the future university administration.

Everyone is eager to know the answer. The Rector of the united university must be an experienced person who can unite all positive results of SSU, SSPU and SNAU.

3 moment – protest against paid education.

The number of free places remains the same. The number of contract students at SSU is 20%.

4 moment – "We don't want to cut loans instead of studying'

The motto "We want to study" is the motto that is always supported by the university administration.

You will study!

But we should also care about the condition of the lecture-rooms. Some ways will be accepted within reasonable limits. Of course not instead of lectures and not in that volume and not with those methods.

The Rector also asked the students to conduct themselves civilized according to the law. All the questions and propositions should be sent to the Student Rector's office at first. I. Kovalyov advised the students not to oppose themselves to the students from other universities. A clever man will never boast that he is clever.

At the end of the meeting the students could put questions to I. Kovalyov. Almost all of the questions touched the 4 moments mentioned above. Among the "fresh" questions was the one about training of reserve officers. This questioned isn't clear yet as there is no order about disbandment of the Military Institute of Artillery and Rocket Forces named after B. Khemlnitsky. A lot of details are not defined. Some answers were not full and even ambiguous. Apparently the Rectors of Sumy universities would like to know the answers dealing at least with the administration. Time will show the situation development. We'll hope for the better and assert our interests in a civilized way.