Corruption in Higher Education in Ukraine

Lototska, Nicole

Item

Corruption in Higher Education in Ukraine

Lototska, Nicole

Abstract

Endemic corruption is very common for post-Soviet countries, and Ukraine is not an exception. Still, for Ukraine, corruption might mean something different from what it means in the Western world. The aim of this thesis is to analyze how Ukrainian students understand corruption in general and specifically in universities and how they percept its future. In the first part, different definitions, types, and approaches to corruption are being presented. It is confirmed out of this theories that Ukraine is a special case and that corruption here and the fight against it has to be looked at through a particular lens. Later in the thesis, this theory will be examined via interviews. Interviews were conducted among three samples of population: Ukrainian students, recent graduates from medical universities in Ukraine, and Ukrainians who study in a university abroad. The methodology and the questionnaire chosen are discussed in this thesis. Interviews showed that even though students do think there is a big problem with corruption in Ukraine and its educational system, they see this problem as only a part of a broader issue of the political, economic, and cultural situation of the country. Hence, mostly, they want the greater issues to be tackled prior to eliminating corruption.