A critical look at the MES reform: will the new certification help improve the quality of education?

The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine has once again taken up the task of updating the regulation on the certification of teachers, justifying this step by the need to improve the mechanisms for evaluating teachers. However, despite the promises to improve the educational process, the innovation raises doubts and concerns among many teachers. The impression is that instead of providing real support and development for the teaching staff, the new certification may become an additional tool of pressure on teachers. Are teachers ready for the new conditions? Will the new rules really help improve the quality of education, or is it just another bureaucratic requirement that focuses on formalities while ignoring the essence of teaching?

What is new in the regulation on teacher certification?

The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine has updated the Regulation on the Certification of Teachers (Order of the Ministry of Education and Science of 09.09.2022 No. 805, as amended by Order of 10.09.2024 No. 1277) in order to improve the mechanism for evaluating teachers, according to the officials themselves. According to the new order, the following changes were made to the regulation:

• the issue of assigning pedagogical titles and qualification categories to teachers who do not have a university degree was regulated;
• it is determined that teachers who move to other educational institutions to work in the same positions or interrupt their work retain their pedagogical titles and qualification categories until the next certification
• the procedure for establishing attestation commissions has been improved and the list of entities that can establish them has been defined. In particular, it provides for the possibility of establishing certification commissions by private educational institutions and/or their founders;
• the Law regulates the awarding of the pedagogical titles of ‘senior lecturer’, ‘senior teacher’ and ‘senior educator’. They are awarded to teachers who, based on the results of the preliminary certification, have been assigned (confirmed) a qualification category not lower than ‘specialist of the second category’ (or the corresponding tariff category) and whose work experience is more than 3 years;
• the following pedagogical titles were regulated: ‘lecturer-methodologist’, ‘teacher-methodologist’, ‘educator-methodologist’, ‘teacher-organiser-methodologist’, ‘practical psychologist-methodologist’, ‘circle leader-methodologist’, ‘senior counsellor-methodologist’. They are awarded to teachers who work in the relevant positions and who, according to the results of the previous certification, have a qualification category not lower than ‘specialist of the highest category’ (or the corresponding tariff category is established), higher education and work experience of more than 5 years;
• it is determined that level I attestation commissions can be established in educational institutions and separate structural units with at least 15 teaching staff;
• the issue of certification of pedagogical staff who have a workload of several academic subjects has been regulated.

In addition, not only professional development courses, but also education at a higher education institution will be counted as professional development for the next 5 years. Also, from now on, in case of teaching several subjects, teachers can choose the sequence of professional development within the total amount of professional development (150 hours or 30 ECTS credits). According to the new order, after the certification letter on the decision of the commission is issued, the head of the educational institution must issue a corresponding order, which is a document confirming the assignment of a qualification category or pedagogical title to a teacher.

According to the Ministry of Education and Science, more detailed requirements for teachers’ professional activities have now been established, allowing for a more objective assessment of their work.Teachers are required to regularly attend refresher courses and participate in professional seminars, which contributes to their professional development.Student performance has become an important indicator of teacher effectiveness, which encourages teachers to improve teaching methods.Local certification commissions have also been given more autonomy, allowing them to take into account regional peculiarities and

What do teachers think about the certification update?

In turn, teachers themselves note the growth of bureaucratic procedures and the need to spend more time preparing for such certification. Indeed, the updated requirements for teachers are becoming more stringent every year. Teachers are forced to fulfil many new criteria, submit a lot of documents and undergo complex inspection procedures. But are these requirements reasonable? In most cases, they turn into additional bureaucracy that has nothing to do with improving the quality of teaching. On the contrary, teachers spend more and more time on reports than on the actual development of their students. Here are a few comments that reflect the general mood of educators.

“The problem is that the leaders of the Ministry of Education and Science do not have a specialised pedagogical education and none of them has ever worked in a regular school. That is, the object of management is terra incognito for them. So what kind of adequate management decisions do you want from them?’ commented Ihor Likarchuk, former head of the Ukrainian Centre for Educational Quality Assessment.

Victoria Kudinova, teacher, Facebook user:

‘Or maybe the Ministry of Education and Science should certify teachers, we will also prepare a programme, and arrange a 24/7 quest, and finally certify them…’

Yarema Romaniuk, teacher, Facebook user:

“Every year they change something. Perhaps the clerks from the ministry have to show their ‘stormy’ activities?”

Educator, Facebook user:

“Thank you very much. Hustling directors and pedagogical councils either recognise the courses or not. And people pay money and pass. This is really done for people!”

Larysa Kotliarenko, Facebook user:

‘The only + that can be and is the assignment of the highest category and titles in your team.’

However, the most painful thing is that despite the new requirements, the attitude towards teachers as a key figure in society has not changed. The teaching profession, which should be one of the most prestigious in the country, is still underestimated. Teachers, who are expected to deliver high results and an innovative approach to work, continue to receive meagre salaries, often without even the basic resources for quality teaching.

It is not surprising that more and more teachers are leaving the profession under such conditions. Meagre salaries, constant demands, lack of support from the government – all this makes even the most dedicated teachers think about changing their profession. When the state does not value its teachers, it loses not only its staff but also its future. After all, without competent and motivated teachers, Ukrainian education is sinking into the abyss.

The paradox is that the Ministry of Education and Science is constantly putting forward new requirements for teacher certification, but who protests the officials who come up with the clumsy reforms? Have any of them ever worked in a school in real life? Do they understand what is required of a teacher who, in addition to the educational process, has to deal with a lot of social problems of his or her students and work without proper support?

The main question is: to what extent are the new certification rules really necessary? The Ministry of Education and Science does not propose specific solutions to improve teachers’ working conditions or increase their motivation. Instead, certification becomes a kind of test that teachers are forced to pass every five years. And instead of supporting and developing professionals, certification turns into an additional stress factor.

The new criteria do not take into account the real problems of the educational process: a decrease in the number of students in classes, insufficient funding for schools, and outdated teaching materials. What will happen to education in such conditions in a few years? If the trend of teacher attrition continues, Ukrainian schools will simply have no one to teach our children.

Ukrainian education is on the verge of dangerous changes. If the Ministry of Education and Science does not change its attitude to teachers and the state does not recognise the importance of decent pay and working conditions for teachers, we risk losing a whole generation of quality professionals. After all, when teachers leave, it’s not just empty seats in schools that remain. The future of the country is also left without support. It’s time to recognise that education reforms should not start with new requirements, but with care for those who work for children every day. Teachers deserve decent salaries, respect and real support, not more bureaucratic burdens. Otherwise, certification, which is supposed to assess professionalism, will turn into another instrument of pressure that will finish off those who have not yet broken down.

How the process of teacher certification has changed

The certification of teachers in Ukraine has a long history, which has changed in line with the social, political and economic conditions of the country. Over time, this process has been transformed, but its main drawbacks have remained unchanged: increasing requirements for teachers without appropriate support and incentives. Let’s take a look at how certification used to be carried out, what has changed now, and how it has affected teachers.

In Soviet times, teacher certification in Ukraine was a formal procedure aimed at ensuring that teachers met the requirements of the state education system. The assessment was based on clearly defined standards that had little to do with the actual skills and abilities of teachers. The assessment was carried out more to maintain the image of the system than to improve the quality of education. The certification process was fully controlled by state authorities. Teachers had to undergo mandatory appraisal at regular intervals. Certification was conducted once every five years, and teachers were assigned qualification categories that affected their salaries and status in the education system. Although a system of in-service training existed, it was more nominal. Most teachers took in-service training courses only to fulfil formal requirements.

After gaining independence, Ukraine retained many features of the Soviet certification system, but over time tried to introduce some changes. Until the recent changes, the appraisal system remained bureaucratic. As before, attestation was carried out every five years. The main purpose was to confirm the qualification categories of teachers. Teachers were evaluated by a special certification commission consisting of school administrators, representatives of trade unions and local education authorities. The assessment was based on teacher performance reports, analysis of lessons attended and documents confirming participation in seminars and in-service training courses. The assessment was linked to the assignment of qualification categories (specialist, specialist of the second, first and highest categories). Teachers’ salaries depended on their category. The process remained formal and often did not correspond to the actual quality of teachers’ work. Bureaucratisation and lack of funding prevented the creation of a genuine incentive system for teachers. Teachers were often required to submit reports and participate in seminars without any real changes in the teaching process.

In 2023, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine announced new amendments to the Regulation on the Certification of Teachers. The changes are aimed at improving the quality of education and simplifying the certification process, but they have become an additional burden for many teachers. The new requirements have added even more workload to a teacher’s routine. Teachers now have to meet a greater number of criteria related to both professional achievements and the use of modern technologies in teaching. An important component of the new system is the assessment of student performance. This has caused a lot of debate, as academic performance depends on many factors that teachers cannot always influence (social status of the family, material and technical support of the school, etc.). Teachers are now required to attend regular in-service training courses and participate in professional seminars. While this could be a positive aspect, many teachers say that they are forced to take these courses formally, without any real opportunity to apply their knowledge in practice. Certification commissions now have more autonomy, but this has also led to differences in approaches to certification in different regions.

With the growing number of criteria for certification, teachers are feeling more stressed. Many teachers complain that they are forced to spend more time preparing for certification than actually teaching. The constant pressure to meet new requirements and ensure high student performance leads to stress and emotional burnout. Teachers say that the bureaucratic approach to evaluating their work creates additional difficulties instead of support. Despite the new requirements, the financial situation for most teachers has not improved. Salaries remain low, and additional responsibilities and demands are not accompanied by adequate financial incentives. Due to the growing workload and lack of adequate conditions, many teachers are leaving the profession. This process only exacerbates the problem of a shortage of qualified teachers in Ukrainian schools.

It is clear that despite attempts to update the teacher certification system in Ukraine, most changes do not address the underlying problems, such as low salaries, insufficient state support and excessive bureaucracy. The state must understand that to improve the situation, it is necessary not only to introduce new criteria, but also to provide real support for teachers, including financial support, and to create conditions for their professional development that meet modern requirements.

Certification of teachers abroad

The certification of teachers in foreign countries differs significantly from the Ukrainian system and can serve as an example for introducing more effective approaches to assessing teachers’ professional performance.

For example, in Finland, which is known for its high-quality education system, teacher evaluation is practically absent in the usual sense. In this country, the main emphasis is on teacher training and professional autonomy. Teachers receive a high level of academic training during their studies at universities, as a master’s degree is mandatory. However, teachers regularly participate in in-service training and professional development. At the same time, there is no formal certification system, but rather the performance of students is assessed. In turn, continuous professional development is voluntary and strongly encouraged by the state.

In the United States, teacher certification is regulated at the state level, so systems may vary. However, in general, the process involves:

Regular reviews and evaluations. Administrators or senior teachers observe lessons, evaluate teaching skills and ability to work with students.

Professional development. Teachers have the opportunity to take professional development courses. Many states require teachers to obtain certificates or licences to prove their knowledge and skills.

Performance-based evaluation: In some states, an important part of teacher evaluation is based on student performance on standardised tests. This is controversial because student performance depends on many factors.

Canada uses teacher evaluation systems that are similar to those in the United States, but with some differences. In some provinces, teachers are required to undergo regular observations and evaluations at different stages of their careers. For example, new teachers are subject to frequent reviews and supervision to check their ability to cope with the learning process. Teachers are also required to take periodic professional development courses. As in the United States, student performance also influences teacher evaluation.

In the United Kingdom, teachers are evaluated through a system known as OFSTED (Office for Standards in Education), the national regulator of educational quality. Appraisal takes place through supervision and inspections, during which lessons are observed. Observers can come into classrooms unannounced to assess a teacher’s professionalism. There is a strong emphasis on student outcomes, progress and knowledge. Teachers are required to participate in professional development programmes, and this is also taken into account during the certification process.

Singapore, which is among the countries with the most successful education systems, has introduced a comprehensive system of teacher certification and professional development. All teachers have to undergo regular performance evaluation based on the following criteria

• performance evaluation – includes lesson observations, teacher self-assessment and student surveys;
• learning outcomes – student achievement plays an important role;
• professional development – teachers must participate in continuous professional development programmes, which is also taken into account in the evaluation.

As we can see, foreign teacher evaluation systems show that the effectiveness of evaluation often depends on teachers’ professional development, autonomy and support systems. In many countries, teachers do not feel unduly pressured by bureaucracy, and the process of evaluating their work is more aimed at helping them develop their professional skills than at punishing them.

Thus, Ukrainian education is on the edge of a precipice, and the latest innovations of the Ministry of Education and Science only bring it closer to disaster. The new certification requirements have become an additional burden that puts pressure on teachers who are exhausted by bureaucracy, low salaries and lack of real support. Instead of improving the working conditions of teachers, we are seeing a massive outflow of professionals from a system that is exhausting them. The question is, who will be in front of the classroom tomorrow when today’s teachers leave the profession? If this process is not stopped and real changes are not proposed, such as raising salaries, reducing bureaucracy, and supporting professional development, Ukrainian education risks being left without those who create it.

Famous people have long spoken out about what a society without education is, so it would be useful for officials from the Ministry of Education and Science to listen to them:

“Without education, peoples quickly turn into obedient slaves ’ – Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

“A society that does not invest in education prepares the ground for its own decline ’ – Heinrich Heine.

‘Without education, a society is a crowd that is easier to manipulate than to develop.’– William Du Bois.

‘A nation without education is like a man without eyes.’ – Konstantin Ushinsky.

“Education is the most powerful weapon that can be used to change the world. Without it, the world will remain in the chains of ignorance ‘ – Nelson Mandela.

“The darkness of ignorance feeds all forms of evil, and the absence of education feeds the darkness ’ – Thomas Jefferson.

‘Without education, society lives for the present without building for the future .’ – John Dewey.

“Education is the guardian of freedom. Without it, society will be limited to blind obedience ‘ – George Washington.