UAS: Kiev National University protest

The Law of Ukraine “On Higher Education”, adopted in 2014 was a real victory of student organisations. But there are still a lot of openings in the regulatory and practice frameworks that allow to put pressure upon active students.

Conflicts between students and administration are on rise in Ukrainian higher educational institutions. Active youth are subjected to various  repressions for their active social positions. A recent example are students of  Kiev National University.

The Ukrainian Student Association (UAS), as the largest student organisation of the country cannot stand aside. The association considers it necessary to take all necessary measures to eliminate crackdown on active students in universities. Moreover, UAS is strategically important as the European vector of development of Ukraine.

On February 23, activists of Kiev National University met with the administration. Lydia Fesenko, President of UAS, also joined the meeting, representing students and helping them solve the conflict. Unfortunately, representatives of student government were not on the meeting, despite UAS willingness to collaborate with them.

As is generally known, students were repressed after they began publishing real figures on heating and asking questions about the situation of the Scholarship Fund. Whether these factors are interdependent or not is not clear.

UAS asks students of Kiev National University to think about who really represents their interests and calls the legitimacy of the University questionable.