To the Vice Prime Minister \nMr. Volodymyr Semynozhenko \n01008, Kyiv, 12/2 Hrushevskoho St. \n \nTo the Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine \nMr. Dmytro Tabachnyk \n01135, Kyiv, 10 Peremohy Ave. \n \nThe OPORA Civil Network calls on representatives of the new government not to take actions that could roll back the reform in the field of education. The practice of mandatory external independent assessment in Ukraine has justified society's expectations and reduced the level of corruption during admission to higher education institutions. Thanks to the first steps of the reform over the past two years, school graduates have been able to become first-year students at prestigious higher education institutions of Ukraine without the previously widespread practice of monetary motivation of admissions committees. For the first time in many years, a critical mass of students has come to understand that the result of admission depends exclusively on their knowledge, and not on their parents' financial capabilities. \n \nThe position of part of the administration of higher education institutions, who are dissatisfied with the innovation, is understandable. According to the results of national sociological surveys conducted by KIIS within the framework of the "Dignified Ukraine" project, higher education is one of the most corrupt sectors. The number of higher education institutions is excessive, and the quality of their work often does not compete on the global labor and education market. Today it is worth considering why, given the significant quantitative advantages of higher education institutions in Ukraine, none of them is included in prestigious European or world rankings. Of course, there are no ideal systems for assessing knowledge, but the EIA makes it possible to eliminate the subjective factor in determining the level of graduates' knowledge. The anonymity of tests and the transparency of the testing system increase the trust of the reform's primary target audience every year: graduates and their parents. \n \nAll officials' stereotypes can be dispelled if there is the political will to listen not only to the rectors of individual higher education institutions, but also to the children who have focused on studying over the past year, and to the public that has diligently worked in recent years to improve the EIA system. Today, instead of searching for "tractors" (as higher education institutions privately called instructors who helped for bribes during admission and study), parents motivate their children to prepare properly for testing. \n \nEducation reform must be supported, experts outside politics must be involved, and we must think about the interests of children, not of rectors who have had a piece of corrupt bread and butter taken away from them. \n