Publication date: 10.05.2024
active and purposeful military lawyer with more than 4 years of experience
Total or annual professional development for teacher certification?
Article 51 of the Law of Ukraine dated January 16, 2020 No. 463-IX "On Comprehensive General Secondary Education" (hereinafter - Law No. 463) states that every teaching staff is obliged to upgrade their qualifications every year in accordance with the Law of Ukraine dated September 5, 2017 No. 2145-VIII "On Education" (hereinafter - Law No. 2145), taking into account the features defined by this Law. The total number of academic hours for professional development of a pedagogical worker over five years, which is paid from the funds of the state and local budgets, cannot be less than 150 hours. It is also provided that, based on the proposals of teaching staff, the pedagogical council of the educational institution forms and approves the annual plan for the professional development of pedagogical staff for the next calendar year, which determines, in particular, subjects of professional development, the number of hours, and the terms of its completion.
Professional development is the duty of a teacher
Therefore, professional development is the duty of a pedagogical worker, which is provided in accordance with the annual plan of the institution and budget funds with the determination of the relevant subjects of professional development, where it will be carried out.
The issue of certification of teaching staff is regulated by Article 48 of Law No. 463, which stipulates that certification of teaching staff is carried out in accordance with Law No. 2145 and in accordance with the procedure approved by the central executive authority in the field of education and science.
Article 50 of Law No. 2145 states that the certification of teaching staff is a system of measures aimed at a comprehensive and comprehensive evaluation of the pedagogical activity of teaching staff.
It has been established that the certification of teaching staff can be regular or non-regular. Pedagogical workers undergo regular attestation at least once every five years, except for cases provided for by law.
The suitability of the pedagogical worker for the position he holds According to the results of the certification, the suitability of the pedagogical worker for the position he holds is determined, qualification categories are assigned or confirmed, and pedagogical ranks are assigned. The list of qualification categories and pedagogical titles of pedagogical workers is determined by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
That is, Article 50 of Law No. 2145 does not stipulate the condition that the certification of a pedagogical worker is possible only under the condition of annual professional development.
Article 59 of Law No. 2145 regulates the issue of professional development and professional development of teaching staff, which provides for continuous self-education, participation in professional development programs and any other types and forms of professional growth. It is foreseen that the total number of hours allocated to the professional development of a pedagogical worker, which is paid from the funds of the relevant budgets, is determined by legislation. It was also established that a necessary condition for the certification of a pedagogical worker is professional development.
But even in this article, there is no requirement regarding the obligation of annual professional development for the purposes of certification of a pedagogical worker.
That is, the requirement for annual professional development provided for in Article 51 of Law No. 463 refers to the obligation of teaching staff to improve their professional level, and the certification procedure specified in Article 48 of Law No. 463 and Article 50 of Law No. 2145, which provides for determining the qualification level pedagogical activity of the employee does not require annual professional development.The above is also reflected in the Regulation on the certification of teaching staff, approved by Order No. 805 of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine dated September 9, 2022 (hereinafter - Order No. 805; Regulation No. 805).
In particular, sub-paragraph 5 of paragraph 3 of Order No. 805 establishes that the minimum total amount of professional development of teaching staff of general secondary education institutions, necessary for them to pass certification, is not less than 150 hours over five years.
You may be interested in reading articles on the following topics: collection of debt from wages recovery of wages through court recovery of wage arrears recovery of wages recovery of wages in court recovery of wages through court recovery of unpaid wages
Clause 8 of Section I of Regulation No. 805 establishes that professional development of teaching staff is carried out in the inter-attestation period in accordance with legislation and is a necessary condition for attestation. The total amount of advanced training is determined in total over the last 5 years before certification and regardless of the subject of advanced training, the type, form or direction in which the teacher received advanced training.
That is, there is a condition for the total volume of professional development during the last five years prior to certification in the amount of at least 150 hours, and not for the annual qualification during these five years with a total volume of at least 150 hours.
Therefore, the attestation commission must make an appropriate decision on the suitability (non-conformity) of the pedagogical worker for the position held, the assignment (confirmation) to him of the appropriate qualification category and pedagogical title or on the refusal of such assignment (confirmation) depending on the results of his professional activity, taking into account that the total volume his qualification improvement over 5 years is 150 hours.
