Young Ukrainians stand up against corruption in schools – UN

More than 100 young Ukrainians have joined in a United Nations-backed essay competition in a bid to raise awareness of the negative effectives of corruption in higher education.

Participants, aged between 15 and 25 years, broached topics including the effects of bribery on the quality of schooling and whether standardized testing can curb corruption in the admissions process for universities.

The contest was sponsored by the World Bank and the non-governmental organization Promoting Active Citizen Engagement in Combating Corruption in Ukraine (ACTION).

The jury – comprising representatives of the World Bank, ACTION, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and other groups – selected 14 winners representing different regions in the Eastern European nation out of 104 entries.

“Ukrainians see that corruption is a major problem for the country's development, but personally many of them are reluctant to do something about it in their daily lives,” said Martin Raiser, World Bank Director for Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova.

This competition “shows that young people are ready to stand up for change and are thus and encouragement to everyone to make anti-corruption their own agenda,” he added.