“Against Degradation of Education” was a 2010 to 2013 campaign of the Ukrainian student movements including the social activist group Vidsich and the syndicalist trade union Direct Action to prevent the adoption of President Viktor Yanukovych’s education reform in Ukraine, which was criticised as reducing the civil liberties of students and allowing for endemic corruption to take root. After June 2013, it shifted to a campaign in support of "EIE protection". It was later subsumed into the Euromaidan movement, which installed a new government that passed new education reform supported by the Vidsich in 2014.
Reasons On November 8, 2010, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine published a new edition of the draft law "On higher education".Щодо проекту Закону України "Про вищу освіту" (нова редакція) — Освіта.ua Concern is growing among students and civil activists because this draft law provides a number of rules, which tends to strengthen corruption in higher education, increase the commercialization of education, restrict student government. In particular, the new draft law, compared to current law #2984-14,Закон від 17.01.2002 №2984-III — Верховна Рада allowed to indefinitely increase fees for contract students during the period of study, abolished the guarantee of acceptance to the first course on a free basis for distance learning (part-time), evening and external learning students, abolished the minimum limit of funding for training and ability to combine forms of study, declined funding for free education by 42% and contained many confusing and legally incorrect statements.
Course of events
2010 On November 8, the Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science (MES) sent copies of the draft law "On higher education" to all of its departments and the head of every university, effectively releasing the bill to the public. The MES stated it would request its passage in the Verkhovna Rada, and explained why it believed the law would improve the education system.Архів нормативних документів за 2010 р. — листопад — Вища освіта Subsequently, on December 22, Oleksandr Yefremov and Maxim Luczky registered the draft law "On higher education" #7486-1 in Verkhovna Rada.Educational reform in Ukraine: optimization or demise of the future elite? - KyivPost
2011 January 20 - activists of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy hold a press conference against the draft law "On higher education" #7486-1, according to which the status of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy will change from university to college. January 31 - protests against draft law "On higher education" #7486-1 took place in many cities of Ukraine, among which were Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Zhytomyr and Khmelnytskyi. In Kyiv protests took place near the building of Committees of the Verkhovna Rada. Participants made paper planes of their conspectus and launched them, "armed" with pencils and chanted slogans. February 1 - the draft law "On higher education" #7486-1 was included in the agenda of Verkhovna Rada. February 10 - activists of the campaign announced their demands in the press center of news agency LIGABusinessInform. They were supported by Igor Likarchuk, ex-director of Ukrainian Center for Educational Quality Assessment. One of the coauthors of the draft law Yuriy Miroshnichenko thanked students for criticisms and promised the participants to consider their positions. Student activists promised to strengthen protests in case of dissatisfaction of their demands. February 16 - student activists hold the press conference right on the pavement outside Verkhovna Rada, where the meeting of the committee on education took place. Participants took paintings and drawing made by themselves in their hands and also were doing ordinary students activities - read, took notes, solved tasks. They stated that in case this draft law is adopted they will lose their opportunity to have education. No decisions were approved by the committee this day. February 28 - the second all-Ukrainian protest against the draft law was held. Students, teachers, pupils and their parents protested in Kyiv, Donetsk, Khmelnitsky and Simferopol. In Kyiv participants meet near Arsenalna metro station and went to the building of Committees of the Verkhovna Rada, where, through a provocation, there was a clash in which Berkut (special police force) intervened. As it could make an impression of disunity of students, the students from different sides of the police cordon hugged each other to seal their unity. After the end of the protest, provocators followed participants to the Square of Contracts and attacked them and pedestrians near the building of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. It resulted in creating of expert working group of MES, which included several representatives of students, to make changes to the draft law. March 10 - after continuous mass protests the draft law "On higher education" #7486-1 was withdrawn. Immediately after that appeared the information that the new draft law "On education" is being prepared by Dmytro Tabachnyk and MES. March 17 - the press conference "MES frames students? Risks of the draft law "On higher education"" took palace in the building of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, which was organized by "antidegradants". The reason was the new nearly identical to previous draft law. During the work of the expert working group of MES, included several representatives of students, it became clear that the demands of students are not taken into account and ministry officials do not want any dialogue or compromise. March 28 - Vidsich starts a serie of actions near local universities in Lviv titled "Higher education - obstacle race". Students were offered to play the game "to go all the way to their higher education, overcoming obstacles made by MES". The goal of actions was to show all negative sides of the draft law "On higher education" and legislative policy of the Ministry. This day actions took place near Ivan Franko University and Lviv Polytechnic University. March 30 - the third "Higher education - obstacle race" action took place near Agricultural Academy in Dubliany not far from Lviv. March 31 - the fourth "Higher education - obstacle race" action took place near Ukrainian National Forestry University in Lviv. April 13 - a protest with 3 to 4 thousand students participating took place near Lviv Regional State Administration during which student announce their demands and claim that "Education protects freedom better than armed troops" (phrase of Edward Everett). Protest started near Ivan Franko University and continued with the walk to Administration. Participants also demanded the resignation of Dmytro Tabachnyk, his deputy Yevhen Sulima and top management of MES. May 13 - representatives of students left the working group of MES because all their demands were ignored. May 17 - press conference took place near Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Activists announced that even after talks with students the draft law "On higher education" still contains rules violating the rights of students and teachers and also announced a nationwide strike on May 25. May 25 - nationwide strike took place in 20 cities of Ukraine. European Students' Union and "Street University" of Saint Petersburg expressed support to protesters. In Kyiv hired young people (a.k.a. titushky) came to the Presidential Administration of Ukraine in advance to prevent the protest to take place there. Students controlled by MES met to express their support to the draft law "On higher education". Shortly after that Dmytro Tabachnyk announced in a press conference that all demands of students were taken into account, which was not true.Students protest against new version of Higher Education Law - Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group June 21 - The press conference in the form of theatrical play took place near the Cabinet of Ministers with students and teachers participating. The reason for it was the information that executive authorities were going to adopt the law on June 23 violating the procedure. Students announced that they are ready to continue their protests in September and demanded the resignation of MES top management. Action was also a part of "AntiTabachnik campaign". On the same day, student organizations controlled by MES held their own press conference where they urged support for the draft law. September 1 - Vidsich activists held an action called "Tabachnyks reforms are like tits on a goat" in eight cities of Ukraine. Its main idea was to emphasize unfulfilled promises of Minister Dmytro Tabachnyk, his lies and official incompetence, particularly about the draft law "On higher education". In Kyiv students took a self-made barrel to the Presidential Administration which symbolized "empty" promises of the Minister. In Lviv the symbolic memorial to the Minister-goat was established on the Market Square.1 вересня у Львові пройшла акція "З Табачника реформ як з козла — молока" — vlaskor.net In Vinnitsa participants jumped over gymnastics buck (in Ukrainian language it is called "gymnastics goat"). In Donetsk participants were showing "ministerial kitchen", which gets "every kind of junk". In Lutsk students showed "construction goat" (scaffolding) which can not hold a thing. September 22 - "The Forum of Ministers of Education of European countries "The school of 21st century: Kyiv initiatives" began in Kyiv. In contrast to it activists of Direct Action started their own forum "The other side of education". Demands of protesters were: prevent the introduction of paid services and increasing of education fee, scholarships at the subsistence level, free choice of subjects and anytime access to dormitories, etc., mainly to prevent the adoption of the odious draft law "On higher education", which also was noted during the alternative public event. The court, because of the Forum of Ministers of Education, prohibited all action city center, but Sofiivska square was absent from the list of places where actions are prohibited. Students met on Mikhaylivska square and after a short argument with the bailiff went to the Sofiivska square but a clash with police started on their way. During that, an activist of Direct Action was arrested and put into a police van. After that most of the participants left this place. Several participants went to the van to find out on what basis the arrest was made. A policeman from Berkut (special police force) got out of the van and started pushing people, arrested another activist from Vidsich and put him in the van. At the same time, the second clash with police happened on the crossroads of Volodymyrsky lane and Lesser Zhytomyrska street during which another two activists of Direct Action were arrested. Arrested activists were treated brutally and one of them was beaten.Міліція відпустила учасників антитабачної акції. Ті заявляють, що "Беркут" бив затриманих — УП All arrested activists were taken to Shevchenkivsky police precinct #4 where they were released with no charges. Later the spokesman of Kyiv police announced that activists were not arrested but invited for a talk.