“THE WORK OF TESTING CENTER IS NOT REGULATED BY ANY LAW OF UKRAINE”, – IHOR SHURMA

Briefing at Verkhovna Rada on 02.03.2018. Ihor Shurma, member in Committee of VRU on issues of health care.

“Today I would like to pay your attention to the event that literally detonated the situation in the medical community – this is the strike of students, teachers at O.O. Bogomolets National Medical University in protest that takes place as if in conflict between O.O. Bogomolets National Medical University and Ministry of Health Care of Ukraine.

This issue was considered at the meeting of relevant committee and, having studied all circumstances of this situation in details, we came to very unexpected conclusion. Today the non-professional actions by officers from Ministry of Health Care tried to transform the situation into conflict between O.O. Bogomolets National Medical University and Testing Center. When we carefully studied this issue, we found out that the activity of Testing Center is not governed by any law of Ukraine. and accordingly there is the question about legality of its existence. The regulatory documents, according to which the Center performs its activity, are out-of-date and do not conform to the realities of present moment as 20 years have passed since its establishment. I would like to mention that this Center was established in 1999, when the Agreement between Ministry of Health Care and National Board of Medical Examiners in the USA was concluded., as well as the Decree by President of Ukraine and Directive by Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

According to information from Uniform State Register of Legal Entities and Sole Proprietors, the Testing Center is a non-profit organization. However, the Charter of the Center and its activity does not have any features of non-profitability. What does it mean? According to sections in Tax Code 133 4.1 and 133 4 Article 133, a non-profit enterprise is the organization, which conforms to some requirements. The Center as a non-profit organization acts in infringement of Tax Code of Ukraine; there are no Laws that govern its activity. The illegal activity of the Center as a non-profit organization in fact causes to non-receipt of state special funds to state budget since establishment of this Center. Besides, the Center conducts its activity without license to render the educational services. According to the letter from Ministry of Education of Ukraine, dd. 2016, MES did not grant the Center with the license to the right to render the educational services, related to acquisition of higher or professional education. The information about Center is absent in the Uniform State Electronic Base on Issues of Education. According to the data from Uniform State Register of Legal Entities, the Center is not registered with the code “Economical activity: higher education”. The Center does not provide the Ministry of Health Care any financial plan for calendar year for approval and this means that according to the letter from Ministry of health care of Ukraine, dd. 2016, the Center cannot, not submitting the financial plan for budget year for approval and it cannot be checked. Moreover, the existence and activity of the Center infringes the laws of Ukraine about Higher Education, Criminal Code, Economical Code, Budget Code and Tax Code of Ukraine.

According to I. 12 Art. 2 in Budget Code the non-profit organizations are established by state authorities due to established procedure. According to statutory documents the Center exists in the status of state non-profit organization. Taking into consideration that the law does not govern the activity of the Center as a non-profit organization, this Center is illegal. The Center is a monopolist in its sphere and at present moment there is no alternative to it. It acts in the illegal field, infringing the last wording for LU “About Higher Education”, which does not anticipate that a third party organization shall perform the testing. The illegal activity of the Testing Center caused to numerous cases, when the students, who followed to requirements of curriculum, passed through state exams, were deprived of possibility to receive the diplomas about higher education only due to conclusion of the Center, which activity is not anticipated by any law. Kyiv Economical Court and Kyiv Court of Appeal twice obliged the Testing Center to issue the certificates. There is the question, why now the educational medical schools transfer the money to the Testing Center. It was found out that after oral telephone communications between MHC of Ukraine and higher medical schools they concluded the agreements and transferred the money that is a violent infringement of Budget Code. Thus, at present moment, we can make the conclusion – the Testing Center exists for 20 years but do we need it? We definitely need it, and those students, who pass through the corresponding programs KROK-1, KROK-2, KROK-3, tell that this program in fact helps them to define their knowledge. Why does not the Ministry of Health Care, and especially the team, which already for 2 years has been working and declaring its struggle against corruption, standardize the activity of the Center and instead of it incite higher schools to infringe the Budget Code and to finance the structure beyond the limits of legislation. Thus, the artificial conflict, which was established by MHC of Ukraine, has transformed into the strike. At present moment the students cannot pass their exams. At relevant committee (Committee of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on issues of health care) we considered this issue and I once again appeal to the National Anticorruption Bureau of Ukraine to check the Testing Center as to legality in financial activity. I appeal to all power structures to check the legality in existence of the Center, moreover, to give the appropriate assessment of MHC of Ukraine. Namely the Ministry of Health Care would now legalize the existence of Testing Center, establish all conditions so that the relations between higher schools and Testing Center would have the legal order. Instead, we have the possibility to make the conclusion that the arrival of reformers’ team, starting from Kvitashvili, is engaged in staff raiding. Let’s remind on Cancer Institute (I. Shchepotin was dismissed at Kvitashvili with great scandals), then there was the attempt by acting minister to dismiss B. Todurov but they failed. Today, contrary to logic of sound mind, so that to calm down the situation and legally, if there are the grounds for this, to make the staff conclusions at O.O. Bogomolets National Medical University, they established the conditions, when a person from outside comes to fulfill the duties. Moreover, the director of Testing Center is dismissed that there is the attempt to put own people to the posts. If today the Prime-minister of Ukraine, who accordingly received the documents, would not take under his control the clearing up all circumstance – why does not MHC impose order and does not standardize the regulatory legal base for function of Testing Center, the whole responsibility for strike and social tension will be imposed to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.