The Ministry of Education and Science has denied that state-funded places will be reserved solely for medical professionals, teachers and military personnel
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- Alina KvitkoReporter
The Ministry of Education and Science has stated that it has no plans to reduce state support for university applicants. Photo: NikVesti archiveThe Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine has denied reports that state-funded places at higher education institutions may be reserved solely for medical professionals, teachers, military personnel and certain engineering disciplines.
This was announced by Mykola Trofymenko, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, during a conversation with journalists, according to NikVesti.
He commented on reports that, following changes to the legislation, state funding for education would allegedly be retained only for a narrow list of specialisations, whilst for the rest of the applicants only a grant system would apply, or they would not be funded at all.
According to the official, such information is a misinterpretation of draft law No. 10399, which is currently being prepared for its second reading.
«There will undoubtedly be state-funded places. At present, they are still being finalised, as this is a joint decision by the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Economy, which makes long-term forecasts for the development of the labour market. Following this, we allocate state-funded places for those specialisations that the state requires,» said Mykola Trofymenko.
He added that, as before, the priority areas will remain engineering, energy, medicine, IT, and specialisations in the security and defence sector.
At the same time, the Ministry of Education and Science plans to change its approach to state support for students. In particular, it is proposed that the concept of «state-funded places» be retained for military and law enforcement educational institutions, where graduates are guaranteed a post or job upon completion of their studies.
For civilian specialisations, it is proposed to use the concept of ‘state-funded places’. According to Mykola Trofymenko, this will mean that the state will fully cover the cost of a student’s tuition and also pay them a scholarship.
«As far as I understand, this term (state order, — note) and this process were devised back in the Soviet Union, where there was a system of compulsory service in one’s first job and so on. Accordingly, we have such a system in place, but not for civilian specialisations. This is the security and defence sector, our military higher education institutions within the Security Service of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Border Guard Service, the State Emergency Service and so on. Accordingly, here we will retain this term — state order — where there will be cadets, barracks, a guaranteed contract and a first job, that is, a service obligation. Where such a probationary period does not exist and is not provided for, that is, in civilian specialisations, the state order is transformed into state-funded places. And, in fact, it is the same thing: the state fully reimburses the university for the student’s tuition, plus the student receives a scholarship,» said Mykola Trofymenko.
In addition, the Ministry plans to expand the grant system. This includes academic grants based on the results of the national multi-subject test, social grants for disadvantaged groups, special grants for athletes and artists, as well as grants for veterans and combatants.
«We are not restricting anything; we are simply expanding state support for citizens and creating opportunities for students to make more informed choices regarding their university and degree programme,» noted the Deputy Minister.
He also commented on the admission conditions for applicants from frontline regions, particularly the Mykolaiv region. According to him, a regional coefficient of 1.07 remains in force for the Mykolaiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia regions, which affects the applicant’s competitive score and the amount of educational grants.
«More favourable admission conditions and a higher level of state support have been established for frontline territories. In addition, the regional quota mechanism is in place,» said Mykola Trofymenko.
The Ministry of Education and Science believes that the existing mechanisms are sufficient to support local educational institutions and encourage young people to remain and study in their own regions.
It should be noted that by 2029, higher education institutions in Ukraine may introduce a three-year bachelor’s degree programme. This model is designed for pupils of the New Ukrainian School, who will study for 12 years at school.
This material was produced within the REACH – Media Partnerships for Accountability and Trust project, implemented by International Media Support (IMS) and supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. The content reflects the views of the authors and not necessarily those of the Danish government. Denmark’s support strengthens civil society and independent media in Ukraine, including in Mykolaiv.
