In late April, director and lecturer at Karpenko-Kary University Andriy Bilous, who is accused of harassment, was awarded the title of associate professor. The Ministry of Education and Science says that this happened in accordance with current legislation, but does not rule out the possible reversal of the decision.
The ministry recalled that on April 24, the Certification Board of the Ministry of Education and Science adopted a generalized decision to award academic titles to 513 people.
"In this context, the Certification Board of the Ministry of Education and Science does not consider and does not make individual decisions regarding each candidate separately, but works with a consolidated list of persons submitted by educational institutions," the department emphasized.
The Ministry of Education and Science notes that at the time of the final decision, there were no documents that could be grounds for its rejection. At the same time, it was emphasized that if officially documented circumstances arise regarding any candidate that may affect the possibility of awarding an academic title, the Ministry of Education and Science may initiate an internal audit and cancel the relevant decision.
What is Andriy Bilous accused of?
In late January, a student at Karpenko-Kary University Sofia Sapozhnyk accused her teacher Andriy Bilous of harassment. She first posted an anonymous video with the accusations on January 21, and revealed her identity a few days later.
According to her, Bilous sent her nudes of other female students and asked her to send similar ones, "motivating it by saying that everyone had already done it".
Later, other students of the director began to share similar stories. Actor and university graduate Valeriy Filipenko, who was one of the first to start distributing the video with Sapozhnykʼs story, noted that this had long been known in the "theater bubble", but everyone was silent. He called for the distribution of an anonymous form, which can be filled out by all those affected by Bilousʼs actions.
Karpenko-Kary University announced on January 23 that it had filed a complaint with the police, asking law enforcement officers to “verify the disseminated information and provide it with a legal assessment”. On January 27, it became known that Bilous had been suspended from work at the university.
On February 10, the police reported that they had opened an investigation against Bilous on charges of sexual assault. The same day, the Kyiv City State Administration informed that they would remove him from his position at the Young Theater.
Andriy Bilous himself, in a comment to Radio Liberty, rejected the accusations and emphasized that he was open to all inspections in a lawful manner, but did not agree with the fact that "decisions are made not by the court, but on social networks and at rallies".
Bilousʼs suspension from his position at the university lasted until March 14, after which he returned to his position. Bilous says that the Kyiv City State Administration Department of Culture has no legal grounds for suspending or dismissing him from his position.
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