Ukraine's education system and NGOs in the aftermath of the 2014 Revolution of Dignity

The so called “Evromajdan” or Revolution of Dignity”, which took place in Ukraine in the aftermath of the events stemming from the end of 2013 to the first quarter of 2014, has represented a main turning point in the country’s political and ideological direction. The events have marked a historical page of Ukrainian democracy and civil society involvement in the public affair, and present major differences with the previous, famous Ukrainian Orange Revolution. In fact, a major part of the post-Majdan effort has been devoted to the reform of the education system and the consolidation of the civil society organizations.

This has led to a different interpretation of the revolution, from a mere shift of powers to a real attempt to a reform. The state has given great inpuls to the rise of a nationalistic pride, which is highly visible in basically every major city of the country, making different opinions homogeneous in a mainstream narrative shared by all Ukrainians.

Having worked in an Ukrainian NGO from the end of 2015 to middle 2016, I have had the chance to explore and witness first hand the steps which have been taken in the process of shaping the education system according to the renewed national interests. In this paper I will discuss about the major the main differences which marked Evromajdan from its predecessors, the foreign actors involved in the funding machine devoted to Ukrainian civil society, the actual evolutions and their pro and cons.

Despite widespread known and discussed already, I would like to start my analysis from a theoretical definition of civil society and of its role in a given country.
According to Michael Edwards, the political role of civil society is understood as careful monitoring of state and corporate actions. Civil society detects malfunctions in the political system or incumbents' misbehavior and collectively speaks out against them. This includes mobilizing opposition against authoritarian rule and against the abuse of state authority (Edwards, 2009).
One of the most important negative functions of civil society in the post-Soviet space has been, and still is, to relativize the power of the state. This is the case of a substantial majority of the post-soviet countries, including of course Russia. This stems from the authoritarian turn several of the involved countries have had during the last 25 years, which has primarily hit hard on the creation of an active and creative civil society, often seen as the attempt to create a Western fifth column in the country, so to sparkle the possibility for regime change. And even when the state allows a shy space for civil society to develop, things often do not get easier.
This is the case especially because of widespread behaviours by the actors involved in the activities of civil society: “the burgeoning NGO sectors in such countries are often dominated by elite-run groups that have only tenuous ties to the citizens on whose behalf they claim to act, and they depend on international funders for budgets they cannot nourish from domestic sources” (Carothers, 1999). Supported NGOs do not necessarily represent authentic interests of the population, sometimes they are not even necessarily rooted in society. This can be the case when the foreign assistance motivates the NGOs to develop programs and activities, which match the funding ideas of international donors. Or domestic ones, when it is directly the government pumping up funds in the authorized NGOs .

In 1991 and 2004 the problem lay not in the intentions of the revolutionaries, but in the failure of the population as a whole to reform the deep structures of social consciousness. A fundamental change in social consciousness could not be brought about by political means, but only by a spiritual awakening (or “reformation”), which would lead to a greater realization of the consciousness of freedom on the part of an entire population (Lauer, 1993)

The Ukrainian case

After the regime of Viktor Yanukovych, Ukrainian society required not just constitutional reform, but a overall social reformation, involving a new elaboration of values that would signify a clear break from the state-authorized crime and corruption of the post-Independence era. In this regard, Maidan itself came to symbolize the awakening of civil society in Ukraine as a whole.
The literature speculating about Evromajdan has been often analyzing the difference between the paradigm of Homo Sovieticus and the Homo Maidanus, a vague but interesting definition which ‘was born’ figuratively with the mass mobilization of 2014.

“A radical reform of the education system is crucial to the wholesale transformation of post-Soviet Ukrainian society, according to the values of honesty, integrity, freedom, solidarity and compassion. Such a transformation is a precondition to the flourishing of an open and free society and a durable democratic government for Ukraine. In this connection, the Revolution of Dignity signals not only the “coming of age” of Ukrainian civil society, but also the birth of a new type of human being. Maidan has opened the door to irreversible social and anthropological metamorphoses that have long been in the making” (Searle, 2015).

According to these interpretations, it has been repeatedly and thoroughly stressed the importance of the awakening of Ukrainian civil society, and the need to institutionalize it by make it stronger and more independent. In this sense, it has been underlined the need for Ukraine to submit a systemic reform of education, which should be the subject of public consensus, understanding that education is one of the main levers of civilization progress and economic development.

On August 17, 2016 the Ministry of Education and Science published the first version of the Draft Conceptual Principles for the Secondary School Reform for an extensive public discussion. This document explains an ideology of changes introduced in the new Draft Law “About Education” (No. 3491-d of 04/04/2016). These Conceptual Principles generated many responses in the media and social networks. Active citizens and community organizations, individual teachers and groups of schools, local departments of education sent over 60 letters with comments and suggestions. As a result of this dialogue, a revised version of the Conceptual Principles was born. “Together, we will build a European society, the society of enlightened public, high culture and equal opportunities” (Liliia Hrynevych, 2016).
On September 25, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed the new law on education. The law, which is to be implemented gradually from September 2018 until September 2020, had been approved by Parliament in early September, but the draft was changed in a hurry at the very last stages of the process, because of language concerns. The language provisions contained in the law make it controversial both inside Ukraine and in neighboring states, as it envisages that all secondary education will be taught in Ukrainian. The speed and harshness with which parliaments, governments, journalists, and analysts in Hungary, Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, Greece, and Moldova reacted is something unexpected in Ukraine.
Romanian government officials see themselves as speaking on behalf of the approximately 150,000 Romanians and 250,000 Moldovans living in Ukraine. The Romanian parliament’s declaration criticizing the law includes a warning that Ukraine cannot progress on its way toward EU integration without demonstrating respect for national minorities. The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis even cancelled a trip to Ukraine before the law was signed. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó openly threatened Ukraine by saying that Hungary would not support Kyiv’s attempt at further EU integration if the law is implemented. About 150,000 Hungarians live in Zakarpattya Oblast in western Ukraine (Sasse 2017).

NGOs and education system in Ukraine

I would like therefore to analyze the concrete put in practice of the overall “Ukrainian project”, thanks to the material I have gathered directly in the given country. I have been working for 9 months in 7 different schools in Sumy region. Here I have had the chance to notice the huge effort the establishment is trying to put in order to spread as much as possible an institutionalised idea, expressed as universal truth.
My experience is in itself an evidence of how the NGO sector is closely connected to the education sphere, with mutual participation and help from the two sides, which are collaborating greatly, especially in the smallest realities.
This made me witness the different results according to the different layers of involvement in the process. The NGO, especially if recognized by the state or even by international organization, such as the EU or USAID, has a privileged position in the organization of public event, school projects and activities in the city. It becomes an institutional entity itself.
The NGO I have been working with mainly dealt with the organization of Euroclubs, non-compulsory classes in every school of the city and of the region, in which to discuss with the interested audience topics dealing with the European Integration. The organization looked after several other projects, in strong contact with the city administration, together with the main public and private entities of the city itself.
The volunteers participating in the actitivities organized by the NGO had three main backgrounds. There are the local volunteers, which are mainly secondary school students who actively and enthusiastically take place in the activities, galvanized by the chance to get in touch with foreign volunteers; the are volunteers from the European Voluntary Service, the category I have been part of; and the American Peace Corps. In this regards it is interesting to notice how the American Peace Corps have the highest concentration of volunteers exactly in Ukraine after Majdan.

To work in schools is an important part of the research: in fact, to listen to the youngest part of the society is of extreme interest in order to realize the actual effects the political efforts have. One of the first questions the children usually asked me was “Do you like Russia?”, underlining right after “because I hate it”.
A core point is represented of course by the teaching of history. This represents a major issue in every post-soviet country, especially in the aftermath of traumatic events like those of 2014. The creation of a national narrative stems from the education of the historical path Ukraine have been walking striving for independence, path in which Russia represents the negative other. Starting from the tradition inaugurated from Yushenko, a great stress is put on historical moment such as Holodomor , the reinterpretation of the controversial figure of Stepan Bandera , and the natural European tendency in Ukrainian history.

S., 11 years old, strongly disapproves Ukrainian citizens praising Stepan Bandera , but his teacher shuts him up straight away, telling me “Do not mind what he is saying, he is just a little crazy”. Nevertheless, the teacher seems to have an absolutely different attitude when V. 10 years old, in new year's eve starts singing Shedrik Shedrivochka, one of the traditional songs.
The song has been composed in 1916 by Mikola Leontovich, and it is widely known all around the world. But V. proudly adds few verses to the song, which I have later discovered to be very fashionable in the last two years:

“Siju siju zasivaju “ сію сію засіваю
dvoch rabiv ja vam bazhaju, двох рабів я вам бажаю
vsich kacapiv prozhenemo всіх кацапів проженемо
Krim z Donbasom povernemo” крім з донбасом повернемо”

Summing the text up, the little V. hopes to "enslave" the Russians and take back the territories of Crimea and Donbass. In this situation, the teacher does not mind about the violence in his message, instead she claps her hands and incites the other children to sing together with V.

Somebody might say that it is not greatly problematic if a kid is using this kind of vocabulary, if he is showing verbal violence, because at the end of the day he is “just a kid”. But it is impressive to realize how the young students are the part of the social fabric which absorbs the most any kind of input given by society and reproducts it almost involuntarily.

From the 6th November to the 6th December, in every school it is celebrated the month of “Ukrainian Patriotism”, ending up the last day with the celebration for the national day of the Armed Service. I was in one of the schools during the celebration, and S. dragged me around explaining everything which was going on. Every class competes in exhibitions, such as traditional dances, singing, acting in traditional dresses. The guys, from 13 years old on, participate in work out and technical preparation during this month: the learn how to assemble and diassemble an AK74, do physical exercises in military style, attend training at the shooting range, while the girls learn how to provide first aid. There is space indeed for advertisment in schools to join the army, with reference telephone number and website available.

Thanks to my first hand experience I have had the chance to witness how a controlled governmental intervention may have great influence in creating a national ideology in a country. In Ukraine nowadays there is a massively widespread sense of adversion toward Russia, as being the main reason for the domestic problems, and people feel that the conquest back of Donbass, no matter how hard and what cost in human lives may it have, is the key for the resolution of the current situation in the country.

This is visible especially with the young generations, who are completely subdued to a process of ‘brainwashing’ by schools, by the textbooks, by the billboards they see everyday in the cities. This is the generation which, despite the concrete evolution of the current situation, will grow up with a steady mindset due just to the political necessity of the moment. This is the so-called Majdan generation.

Conclusions

The nationalism blessed by the government will probably not solve by itself atavic problems of Ukrainian politics and society. Instead, the growth and welcoming of wave of radical forces, with the resulting institutionalized “soft violence”, is a major threat for the well-being of society itself. Ukraine is trying to play its best cards in order to achieve a significant role in the international scenario, but it is needed to ask if the international actors are really willing to let Ukraine sit at their table. Nevertheless, the tendencies witnessed in Ukrainian civil society are interesting and worth being analyzed in the future, for the last events have paved the way to the understanding of how a community of people may work together for a common good and goal.
Whichever future may expect this country and its citizens, it is out of doubt that the growth of radical positions may definitely lead to unpleasant scenarios which are definitely not to undervalue. The Majdan Generation could be summed up as being the result of the educational effort by the authorities, and it would be correct to use this term just when indicating the generation of young students, which will grow up as young and strong patriots, striving for outside recognition, and for understanding of their own identity.
In this case, despite the widespread idea about alleged interference in the domestic affair of a sovereign country, the European help is of utmost importance for the development and especially for the consolidation of a healthy idea of active civil society. European Union needs to invest massively in this regard, especially when it comes to a country in the immediate neighborhood of the continent: to ignore the situation would pave the way to other actors, not necessarily benevolent, and Europe could not and should not let the situation develop in a way which may harm its own interest.

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