The Ministry of Education and Science is in the process of implementing at least four reforms that directly affect the development of human capital. This was said by the Minister of Education and Science, Liliya Hrynevych, during a speech at the 11th Security Forum in Kyiv.
"We are making reforms in the fields of education and science, because for security in the modern world, military force is not enough, human capital is needed. More than 65% of the population of Ukraine today, at this minute, are tangentially affected by the education system in Ukraine. Among them are 1.3 million preschoolers, more than 3.5 million schoolchildren, 1.6 million students, about 300 thousand students of vocational education institutions and 18 million parents. In fact, practically the entire population of our country is a product of the education system. Today, not only us, but also the whole world is in an educational crisis and is looking for ways to adapt to the challenges of the new time," the minister said.
She also emphasized that according to research conducted at Harvard and Stanford universities, only 15% of career success is provided by the level of professional skills. While other 85% are so-called "soft skills" (Soft Skills).
"On September 1, 2018, all first-graders will already study according to the new State Standard of Primary Education, which takes into account and provides for the introduction of a competency-based approach to learning in our schools. Thanks to this, we will be able to stimulate the development of soft skills in our children. And, of course, there are no reforms without investments. Since 2016, we have managed to increase the share of education expenditures in the state budget to 6.7% of GDP from 5.7% of GDP. This is a significant step forward," the minister emphasized.