Ministry of Education and Research Swedish university of agricultural sciences
Stockholm Swedish university of agricultural sciences
Sweden Swedish university of agricultural sciences Swedish university of agricultural sciences
Swedish university of agricultural sciences Swedish university of agricultural sciences
May 20, 2013 Swedish university of agricultural sciences Swedish university of agricultural sciences
Swedish university of agricultural sciences Swedish university of agricultural sciences
The
reflection on the eleven months-long communication
with
the Swedish Higher Education Authority (SHEA).
Swedish university of agricultural sciences Swedish university of agricultural sciences
In July 2012 I sent to
SHEA a complaint about the Swedish University of Agricultural
Sciences (SLU). I have been forced to do it because my home
university for six months refused to investigate the problem which I
faced during my education. I emphasize again: I didn't complained
about the decision that SLU made; the problem was that SLU ignored
all my request to investigate the problem. My appeals to SHEA were: Swedish university of agricultural sciences
- to establish the correct data of my admission to the third-cycle study program at SLU
- to investigate whether SLU provided the necessary conditions for the education to be completed
- to investigate whether the resources from my study have been withdrawn in accordance with the legal procedure
On
May 13th, 2013 I have got the final decision from SHEA and
now I feel that it is a time to summarize my experience of long-term
communication with this authority. Among the main activities that
SHEA claimed on its homepage are: student's rights, the quality
assurance, and monitoring of the efficiency. However the facts, on
example of my case, showed that none of these claims was fulfilled.
SHEA cannot monitor
the efficiency of other educational institutions, because it is not
efficient itself. It took SHEA eleven months to go through my
complaint. This time-scale can be called efficient only if the
purpose was to wait until my financial resources would be exhausted
and I would be forced to leave Sweden, withdrawing my complaints.
SHEA cannot
evaluate the quality of education. I presented written evidences
that my former supervisor for 2 years (two years!) have been refusing
to provide me with any feedback. His non-professional attitude made
impossible to publish the results of my research and nullify the
possibility to complete my studies. Later, when I applied to SLU with
a request to change the inefficient supervisor, this request was
ignored again. Today, after 16 months (more then one year!) since I
requested for a change of the supervisor, SLU still cannot provide my
studies with an adequate supervision. SHEA commented on this point of
my complaint that this problem is an internal matter of SLU. Thus,
students in Sweden are left under the yoke of the educational
institution with no opportunity to complain.
SHEA does not aim
to guarantee the right of students. The only document that I
requested from SLU and later on from SHEA was a copy of my admission
to the third-cycle of education dated by the June 2007. I requested
this document because SLU insisted that my studies have started in
June 2007 and I only had a copy of admission to the third-cycle
education dated by June 2010. Since I feel myself totally entitled
to request documents that are relevant to my own education, I didn't
understand the grounds why SLU and later SHEA were so persistent in
ignoring my request at the beginning and even directly refusing it
later. The only reason would be that this document does not exist and
my education started only in 2010. SLU practices the exploitation of
foreign students during several years before the students can “earn”
the permission to start their own research project and SHEA shielded
this practice of modern slavery.
Swedish university of agricultural sciences Swedish university of agricultural sciences Swedish university of agricultural sciences Swedish university of agricultural sciences
Summarizing
all above mentioned facts I state that the Swedish HigherEducation Authority is a simulacrum. It aimed to create a false image
that the rights of the students who intended to obtain their degree
in Sweden are guaranteed and protected. The only mission of SHEA is
to guarantee that the Swedish educational institutions, which
violate student rights would be fully shielded from any problems.
However, I believe, that in the era of Internet the ancient policy of
hushing up problems will be no longer efficient; quit opposite it
became laughable. So, if there are sensible politicians in the
Government of Sweden they ought to recognize that the policy pursued
by SHEA sooner or later will lead to the complete discredit of the
image of Swedish education and their own reputations.
Swedish university of agricultural sciences Swedish university of agricultural sciences
Swedish university of agricultural sciences Swedish university of agricultural sciences
Swedish university of agricultural sciences Swedish university of agricultural sciences
Elena K
Swedish university of agricultural sciences
Dept Forest
Mycology and Plant Pathology
Swedish University
of Agricultural Sciences
Uppsala, Sweden
Swedish university of agricultural sciences
Swedish university of agricultural sciences
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