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RECOGNITION OF EDUCATIONAL DOCUMENTS IN UKRAINE

For the purposes of continuous education in Ukraine, it may be necessary to undergo the procedure of recognition of foreign educational documents. This means establishing the equivalence of academic and professional rights, as well as educational and qualification levels stated in foreign educational documents (qualifications), to the national education standards of Ukraine.

Recognition of educational documents in Ukraine is carried out based on the Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region (Lisbon, April 11, 1997) [1] and international agreements on mutual recognition and equivalence of educational documents and academic titles. The Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications (Lisbon Convention) was jointly developed by the Council of Europe and UNESCO to promote the recognition of qualifications awarded in one country (Party to the Convention) by another country (Party to the Convention).

The Lisbon Convention also highlights important issues such as the recognition of qualifications granting access to higher education, the recognition of periods of study, and the recognition of qualifications awarded to refugees, displaced persons, and those in refugee situations, as well as the exchange of information regarding the recognition of qualifications.

Moreover, Ukraine has signed a number of bilateral agreements on mutual recognition and equivalence of educational documents and academic titles. In particular, agreements have been signed with the following countries:

Argentine Republic;

Republic of Azerbaijan;

Republic of Belarus;

Republic of Bulgaria;

Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

Georgia;

Republic of Equatorial Guinea;

Estonia;

Republic of Kazakhstan;

People's Republic of China;

Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (State of Libya);

Mongolia;

Republic of Peru;

Republic of Poland;

Russian Federation;

Romania;

Slovak Republic;

Turkmenistan;

Hungary;

Republic of Uzbekistan.

Some international agreements define the equivalence of qualifications specified in educational documents and allow recognition to be carried out through a simplified procedure. However, some of these agreements contain specific conditions for recognizing the qualifications as equivalent. In such cases, the procedure follows the general rules. The existence of an agreement does not negate the need for an official recognition decision.

The procedure for recognition of documents in Ukraine can be carried out by an institution of higher education for the purpose of enrolling the document holder in studies at that higher education institution and by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (www.naric.in.ua) for the purposes of employment and/or continuing education of the document holder in Ukraine.

The foreign student must apply for the recognition procedure to the competent authority within the first!!! month of study [2; 3].

The Ukrainian recognition procedure for educational documents issued by educational institutions of other countries consists of the following steps.

Verification of the authenticity of the foreign educational documents submitted for recognition, that is, checking the accuracy of the fact of study and receipt of the educational document. If you provide legalized documents with the 'Apostille' stamp or consular legalization, this is sufficient to confirm the authenticity of the documents. Therefore, they will not require verification of the fact of their issuance, which will significantly speed up the recognition process.
Verification of the official recognition of the educational institution that issued the educational document in the education system of the country to which it belongs. This step includes checking the presence of a certificate of state accreditation of the educational institution and a license at the time the educational document was issued to you.
Establishing the equivalence of the qualification stated in the foreign educational document to the requirements for educational or educational-qualification levels of the education system of Ukraine (carried out with the involvement of expert commissions for the relevant specialties).
Comparative analysis of curricula - this involves comparing curricula by content and scope, which is conducted by an educational institution in Ukraine accredited in the same specialty as stated in the applicant's diploma. If such a specialty does not exist in Ukraine, the closest existing one is chosen.

The result of the recognition procedure may be:

Recognition, based on which a Certificate of recognition of the foreign educational document is issued.
Refusal of recognition of the submitted educational document, of which the applicant receives a corresponding notification stating the grounds for such a decision.

If additional conditions for recognizing the qualifications of the owner’s educational documents are defined (i.e., additional training, competence verification, or other actions, the completion of which prevents further education or employment in the specialty in Ukraine), the applicant is sent an appropriate response.

In the case of temporary recognition, the holder of the submitted educational documents is required to take exams on subjects determined by the experts. The duration of the document recognition procedure in this case is increased.

As a result of the recognition procedure, the holder of foreign educational documents receives a certificate confirming the holder's right to continue education based on documents issued by an educational institution of another state.

It should be noted that not all documents are subject to the recognition procedure in Ukraine. These include:

documents issued by educational institutions that are not officially recognized (accredited) in the education system of the state to which they belong;
documents issued by branches of educational institutions, if such branches are not officially recognized in the education system of the state in which they conduct educational activities;
documents that do not contain information about the holder's acquisition of a specific educational or educational-qualification level, professional specialization, or professional retraining;
documents unlawfully issued by an educational institution of another state;
documents that are inauthentic;
documents that do not comply with the officially approved standard for the design of educational documents, if such a standard has been adopted in the state to which the educational institution belongs;
documents issued as a result of studying under a program that cannot be related to any educational or educational-qualification level and/or training direction (specialty, qualification) of the education system of Ukraine;
documents that are not recognized in the state to which the educational institution belongs;
documents that do not contain sufficient information regarding the content of the educational program, making it impossible to establish the equivalence of qualifications awarded by these documents to the educational or educational-qualification level of the education system of Ukraine.

List of sources used:

1. Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region. Lisbon Convention 1997. URL: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/994_308#Text

2. Procedure for recognition of degrees of higher education issued by foreign educational institutions (approved by the order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine dated May 5, 2015 No. 504). Section 4. URL: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/z0614-15/paran9#n9

3. Procedure for recognition of educational documents concerning secondary and vocational education issued by foreign educational institutions (approved by the order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine dated May 5, 2015 No. 504). Section 4. URL: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/z0615-15/paran4#n4

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