Newly-appointed Education Minister submits dissertation for review

Newly-appointed Education Minister Oksen Lisovyi reported on March 23 that he had submitted his dissertation to the National Agency for Quality Assurance of Higher Education for review.

This news comes after allegations arose that his academic work had been plagiarized.

Lisovyi wrote that he was waiting for the results "no less than others" and would share them publicly as soon as he received them.

According to Lisovyi, if the agency deems that there are elements of plagiarism in his work, he will renounce his academic titles.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced on March 18 that Lisovyi would replace former Education Minister Serhiy Shkarlet, who was officially dismissed on March 20.

Shkarlet's time as minister was marred by scandal, including academic plagiarism accusations.

In February 2022, students from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy went out in protest, calling for the resignation of Shkarlet. This came after a scandal where they believed he had sabotaged the election for a new academy president.

During the voting process, one of the voting boxes was defaced, while another was temporarily removed from the premises. When the Education Ministry reneged on its promise to hold new elections, students took to the streets against Shkarlet and demanded that Serhiy Kvit be made the new academy president.

Kvit was the education minister from 2014-2016 and the rector of the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy from 2007-2014. In 2020, Kvit led a commission that found Shkarlet guilty of academic plagiarism.

Shkarlet denied the accusations.