On December 14, 2021, master’s students of the second academic year of specialty “Public Governance and Administration” of leading Ukrainian higher education institutions took part in a pilot project of the National Agency of Ukraine for Civil Service and passed the Unified State Qualification Exam (USQE) in specialized disciplines. The exam was provided in a 180-minute online testing format. In total, more than 4,600 of those receiving higher education from 101 higher education institutions of various forms of ownership and spheres of management demonstrated the acquired knowledge, skills and abilities.
From 2022, the exam will become mandatory for graduates of the master’s program in “Public Governance and Administration” specialty.
National University “Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic” became the center of piloting the project of the National Agency of Ukraine for Civil Service, implemented with the support of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. Among the test participants were 38 master’s students of “Public Governance and Administration” specialty of the Educational and Research Institute of Finance, Economics, Management and Law.
According to Candidate of Science in Public Governance, Associate Professor of the Department of Public Governance, Administration and Law at Poltava Polytechnic Inna Kulchii, it is worth noting the high level of awareness of future managers about the key role of such pilot projects in modern higher education and professional self-determination.
“In preparing for the mock Unified State Qualification Exam (USQE) for master’s students of specialty “Public Governance and Administration”, the methodical recommendations posted on the official website of the National Agency of Ukraine for Civil Service were strictly followed. Procedure of passing the exam excluded physical presence of our university lecturers in the classrooms where the testing took place. Proctors sent by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine worked with future graduates, and the procedure of passing test tasks was recorded on video.
Future experts in the field of public governance have been honest about testing their own key competencies and are looking forward to the results. It is worth noting that the procedure of passing the pilot Unified State Qualification Exam (USQE) will not have any legal consequences for the final certification of master’s students. However, the university’s participation in pilot educational projects is an additional incentive to charge for a positive result!” – commented the scientist.
Specialists of the National Agency of Ukraine for Civil Service, Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, lecturers of leading Ukrainian universities joined the development of the program and of 150 test tasks of the Unified State Qualification Exam in “Public Governance and Administration” for students at the second (master’s) level of higher education. Samples of test tasks can be found in the section “Professional Training” on the official website of the National Agency of Ukraine for Civil Service at https://bit.ly/3oaDpTD.
Based on the results of the piloting, characteristics of test tasks, profile of knowledge acquired and the quality of tests prepared in higher education institutions will be assessed. 393 proctors were sent to ensure control over the USQE testing, and observers were representatives of the Directorate of Professional Education, Higher Education, the Directorate of European Integration, Budgeting and Policy Coordination of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the Agency informed.
In total, 80% of those receiving higher education participated in the pilot project, which indicates a high level of awareness and social responsibility within future civil servants, despite the fact that the exam results will not be taken into account in the final certification.
It should be recalled that the Unified State Qualification Exam (USQE) is a new comprehensive certification of specialized knowledge of higher education institutions graduates. The first practice of passing the Unified State Qualification Exam in Ukraine was implemented in May 2021, at that time “Veterinary Medicine” and “Veterinary Hygiene, Sanitation and Expertise” specialties were selected for testing.
The next approbation of the Unified State Qualification Exam (USQE) will be conducted for master’s students of “Law” and “International Law” specialties.
Recently, future public officials and lawyers have passed the quest through government offices.
Previously, according to the results of the competitive selection of executors of the state order for professional development of almost 500 civil servants and local self-governments officials, the National University “Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic” became the only institution in Poltava region that received a state order from the National Agency of Ukraine.
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National University “Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic”
