Court confirms legality of cancellation of licence of «Mykolaiv Polytechnic»

The International Technological University "Mykolaiv Polytechnic". Photo: Suspilne Mykolaiv

The Mykolaiv District Administrative Court has confirmed the legality of the unscheduled inspection and the decision to revoke the licence of the educational institution «International University of Technology «Mykolaiv Polytechnic».

This is stated in the court decision published in the Unified State Register of Court Decisions.

As a reminder, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine cancelled the licence of «Mykolaiv Polytechnic» after an unscheduled inspection.

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The educational institution went to court. In their statement of claim, they stated that the inspection order was unlawful and asked for its cancellation. The educational institution believes that the inspection was carried out without clear grounds, and the documents do not contain information on what data caused the inspection. The plaintiff also notes that the order to revoke the licence was issued without legal grounds. According to them, the Ministry was supposed to wait until 21 November to eliminate the deficiencies, but the decision to revoke the licence was made ahead of schedule, so the plaintiff considers it unjustified.

In turn, the Ministry of Education explained that during the inspection of state registers, violations of licensing conditions were found. These included a mismatch between the university's material and technical facilities and the number of students, inaccuracies in staffing, and discrepancies between the information on the official website of the institution and the law. As a result of the inspection, two reports were drawn up: one recorded the violations found, and the other confirmed that the university had not provided the necessary documents.

The court decision also states that the inspection was based on criminal proceedings against the management of the educational institution, which is suspected of organising a scheme to evade military conscription by fictitiously enrolling students and issuing unreasonable certificates of academic debt.

It is noted that, according to available data, in 2022-2024, officials of the institution issued more than a thousand unjustified certificates of deferment from conscription. It was also found that in 2022-2023, the university conducted distance learning without the necessary software and platform. In addition, the material and technical base of the institution does not meet the needs of the 1,800 students enrolled there. An inspection was ordered in connection with these violations.

Therefore, on 25 October 2024, Deputy Minister Mykhailo Vynnytskyi prepared a memo stating that the analysis of state registers showed violations of licensing conditions in the activities of Mykolaiv Polytechnic.

The court's decision states that the university management allowed the commission to conduct the inspection, thereby recognising its legitimacy. As a result, the Ministry of Education conducted an unscheduled inspection, which resulted in an act of 30 October 2024. The document confirmed several violations of the licensing conditions for educational activities. The acting rector of Mykolaiv Polytechnic signed the inspection report without objection. In addition, on 30 October, an act was drawn up stating that the institution had failed to provide the requested documents at the written request of the Ministry of Education.

According to the court, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine acted legally when it conducted the unscheduled inspection. The court also confirmed the legality of the cancellation of the institution's licence, as the law provides that if an educational institution fails to provide documents at the request of the licensing authority, this is grounds for cancellation of the licence.

It should be noted that according to «Opendatabot», «International Technological University «Mykolaiv Polytechnic» is a private institution founded in 2003 with a registered capital of 50 million hryvnias. In 2023, the university's revenue was almost 9.5 million hryvnias.

Earlier it was reported that the former rector of «International Technological University «Mykolaiv Polytechnic» Serhii Tkachenko, who demanded money from a student for a diploma, was released on bail of one million hryvnias.

As a reminder, seven vocational schools in Mykolaiv that are currently in state ownership may be transferred to the balance sheet of the region.