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Organizational and Legal Challenges in the Development of Education Exports
Ukraine has a complex and bureaucratic system for issuing initial invitations to foreign students to study. For example, the visa application process for Indian students takes 2–3 months. By comparison, in countries interested in exporting higher education, the processing of entry documents takes a maximum of two weeks. According to estimates by Ukraine’s Ministry of Education and Science, the state’s lost revenue amounts to approximately 70 million U.S. dollars in just one year due to the unresolved issue of obtaining entry visas to Ukraine.
The network of overseas recruitment centers for Ukrainian universities is underdeveloped, which has led to a flourishing intermediary industry. Ukrainian legislation forces foreigners to seek assistance from consulting firms, and as a result, the costs for foreign applicants are rising sharply. For example, according to the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Iraq to Ukraine, a visa that costs $70 ends up costing a student from Iraq more than $1,000.
Problems frequently arise with the State Migration Service and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. International students report that these agencies treat them like criminals, which spreads negative information about Ukraine. The issue of transferring credits earned by foreign citizens while studying abroad has not been resolved. Ukrainian universities are required to admit students who have completed three years of undergraduate study in another country only to the first year. In contrast, most universities in other countries admit such students directly into the third year. There are also complications regarding the recognition of Ukrainian diplomas abroad.
The issue of compensation for foreign faculty members remains unresolved, which limits the ability to attract highly qualified lecturers from other countries. International students are not permitted to work while studying, which prevents students from low-income families from improving their financial situation. The high level of corruption in dealings with foreign students is also a major cause for concern.
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Issues in the Quality of Education and the Introduction of Modern Teaching Methods.
There is a lack of new educational programs and courses that meet international standards and ensure that graduates are prepared to work in a global economy. The implementation of dual-degree programs is hampered by insufficient regulatory support and difficulties in coordinating the scope and content of the curriculum.
The educational process suffers from a lack of a scientific component, which is the foundation of the educational process, especially at research universities (the unsatisfactory state of the material and laboratory infrastructure for teaching, educational services, classroom equipment, etc.). Ukrainian universities offer few programs taught in English, and the quality of English-language instruction is sometimes quite low. In contrast, in many countries that export education, the proportion of English-language courses is increasing, which attracts interest from international students. Postgraduate education for foreign nationals is developing slowly (in leading countries, it accounts for up to 30% of the total volume of training for foreign students).
In Ukraine, distance learning technologies and e-learning have not yet become widely used, and no virtual (online) or cross-border universities have been established. It is important to note that implementing export-oriented educational programs based on modern technologies requires fewer funds, as it does not necessitate the construction of facilities or the provision of infrastructure to support students’ daily needs. Ukrainian universities hardly participate in the creation and activities of international educational consortia and networks, which would enable them to engage more actively in the exchange of educational and scientific developments, new programs, and teaching methods, as well as to conduct research.