Private systems used in schools may charge a fee for using their products. This was the response provided by the Ministry of Education and Science.
Private systems used in schools may charge a fee for using their products. This was the response provided by the Ministry of Education and Science.
According to the ministry, there are over 15 types of electronic class journals and diaries available on the market. Among them, only one is a state development — the electronic system «Mriya». «Mriya» is available as an application for parents, students and teachers. Access through the «Mriya» website is available only to teachers and school administration. «Mriya» is free for all participants in the school process. All other systems are private, therefore they may be paid, the Ministry of Education reported. Institutions independently choose which educational information system (EIS) to use for maintaining business documentation, in particular the electronic class journal,» the material of «Suspilny» says.
«The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine does not oblige to use a specific OIS, nor does it influence the policy on the formation of the cost of using private OIS. The pedagogical council of an educational institution, within the limits of its autonomy in accordance with the legislation on education, may make a decision on the use of any OIS. At the same time, parents have the right not to use OIS,» the Ministry of Education and Science told «Suspilny».
The Minister of Digital Transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, also announced on Telegram that «Mriya» is free for schools and parents and any school can join the system.
Meanwhile, the head of the parliamentary committee on finance, tax and customs policy, Danylo Hetmantsev, who shares the parents' indignation at the introduction of a paid subscription and promised to look into the situation, reported that he had sent a number of inquiries regarding the unexpected introduction of a fee for using the electronic diary.
«Let me remind you of the history of the issue: at the beginning of this school year, the developer of the popular educational application „One School“ without prior warning introduced a payment for parents. Everything could be considered simple monetization, if not for one big BUT. The application, which was previously free, was positioned as publicly available, was recommended by the Ministry of Education and Science, and as a result, is widely used in schools. Parents of schoolchildren were actually faced with an unalternative choice: if you want to continue using the full functionality, pay,» he wrote in Telegram.
The deputy noted that he contacted the developer of the application («TATL TECHNOLOGY») for clarification: what is included in the free service package, what the subscription cost consists of, whether the developer warned local governments and educational institutions about plans to introduce a fee for the functionality when concluding contracts, etc.
«I am waiting for a detailed answer as to who, when, and on what grounds made the decision to monetize the said state service and allowed the collection of funds from parents,» said Hetmantsev.
However, in his opinion, there are even more questions for the ministries. «It is interesting not only to hear the answer, but also to see decisive measures to resolve the situation from the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Digital Transformation. That „super-laconic“ position, which we have already seen in the media, leaves more questions than answers,» he believes.
Hetmantsev published a list of questions for officials from the Ministry of Digital Affairs and the Ministry of Education.
«It’s good that we have Mriya.» I also have a dream that the day will come when the work of competent state bodies will finally be coordinated, and in response to a specific problem and complaints of citizens, an operational solution and work on errors will follow. I am waiting for answers from all parties — I will report on their essence additionally,» he summed up.
Recall that earlier the developer company TATL Technology released an update to the application, after which it began to work on a subscription basis. This innovation outraged parents of schoolchildren. Users note that authorization via the browser has stopped working, and school employees, like parents, do not understand why the service has become paid. Particular dissatisfaction was caused by the fact that the changes were introduced without warning.
