Education in Ukraine

Overview of education in Ukraine

Starting in September 2018, 12 year secondary education will replace 11 year which was mandatory before that. As a rule, schooling begins at the age of 6, unless your birthday is on or after 1 September. In 2016/17, the number of students in primary and secondary school reached 3,846,000, in vocational school 285,800, and in higher education 1,586,700 students. According to 2017 EduConf speech of the (then) Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, Liliya Hrynevych, the amount of budget financing for the sphere of education would reach about ₴53 billion in 2017 (compared to 42 in 2016).

The Ukrainian educational system is organized into five levels: preschool, primary, secondary, upper secondary and postgraduate education. In 2010 a total of 56% of children aged one to six years old had the opportunity to attend preschool education, the Education and Science Ministry of Ukraine reported in August 2010. Schools receive 50% of their funding from the city budget and 50% from the national Government budget. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine intends to give general education schools the option to independently manage the financial resources assigned from the state budget starting from 1 January 2010.

Educating children at home is legal in Ukraine and expressly allowed for in Articles 59 and 60 of Ukraine's Education Law.

Higher education is either state funded or private. Students who study at state expense receive a standard scholarship if their average marks at the end of term exams and differentiated test is at least 4 (see the 5 point grade system below); this rule may be different in some universities. In the case of all grades being the highest (5), the scholarship is increased by 25%. For most students the level of government subsidy is not sufficient to cover their basic living expenses. Most universities provide subsidized housing for out of city students. Also, it is common for libraries to supply required books for all registered students. There are two degrees conferred by Ukrainian universities: the bachelor's degree (4 years) and the master's degree (5–6th year). These degrees are introduced in accordance with Bologna process, in which Ukraine is taking part. Historically, Specialist's Degree (usually 5 years) is still also granted; it was the only degree awarded by universities in the Soviet times. Almost all major universities are located in oblast centers.

Upon obtaining a master's degree or Specialist, a student may enter a university or a scientific institute to pursue postgraduate education. The first level of postgraduate education is aspirantura that usually results in the Kandydat Nauk degree (Candidate of Sciences). Candidates must pass three or more qualifying exams (one or more in the field of specialty, one in a foreign language of their choice and one in philosophy), publish at least five papers in peer reviewed journals (according to requirements existed up to 2013 they had to publish at least three papers), write a dissertation and defend it. This degree is roughly equivalent to the Ph. D. in the United States. After graduation a student may continue postgraduate education. This takes from two to four years of study in doctorantura. Significant scientific results must be obtained and published, and a new thesis written. This produces a Doctor Nauk degree (Doctor of Sciences), but the more typical way is working in a university or scientific institute with parallel preparation of a thesis. The average time between obtaining Kandidat and Doctor degrees is roughly 10 years, and most of new Doctors are 40 and more years old. Only one of four Kandidats reaches this grade. Kandidat Nauk may keep the position associate professor in universities, or Researcher/Senior Researcher in scientific institutes. Doctor Nauk can hold position of full Professor, Head of Laboratory or an equal/higher positions. The Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science is considering changing the Soviet style Kandidat Nauk and Doctor Nauk degrees to Doctor of Philosophy and Doctor Habilitation, as has happened in several other post Soviet countries.

On 25 September 2017 a new law; the law "On Education" on education was signed by President Poroshenko (draft approved by Rada on 5 September 2017) which will make Ukrainian the language of education from the fifth grade on. The law makes exceptions for one or more subjects that are allowed to be taught in two or more languages, namely English or one of the other official languages of the European Union, and allows any languages to be taught as separate subjects. The 2017 law stipulated a three year transitional period, later extended until 2023. The law was condemned by PACE that called it "a major impediment to the teaching of national minorities". The law also faced criticism from officials in Hungary, Romania and Russia. (Hungarian and Romanian are official languages of the European Union, Russian is not.) Ukrainian officials stressed that the new law complies fully with European norms on minority rights. The law does state that "Persons belonging to indigenous peoples of Ukraine are guaranteed the right to study in public facilities of preschool and primary education in the language of instruction of the respective indigenous people, along with the state language of instruction" in separate classes or groups. In January 2020, the 2017 education language law was changed and made it legal to teach "one or more disciplines" in "two or more languages – in the official state language, in English, in another official languages of the European Union". All not state funded schools were made free to choose their own language of instruction. In 2000/2001 academic year, 70% of students attended Ukrainian language schools (that is where Ukrainian is the primary language of instruction), while 29% were studying in Russian language schools. There are schools with instruction in Romanian, Crimean Tatar, Hungarian, and Polish in regions populated by those groups. Historically, the language of instruction has often changed in Ukraine. When Ukraine was part of the Russian Empire, the Ukrainian language was proscribed, and Russian predominated among the elite, who had access to schools. The initial policies of the Bolsheviks were supportive of local languages, and many Ukrainian language schools were opened, with the long term goal of getting rid of illiteracy. From the mid 1930s to the mid 1980s, the Soviet government policies favoured Russification. In the 1970s and 1980s, the number of Russian language schools constantly increased at the expense of Ukrainian language schools. After Ukraine obtained independence the trend was reversed. However, reintroduction of formal Ukrainian language study has taken longer than expected. In some schools that have tried to switch to Ukrainian, part or most of the instruction is still given in Russian. In universities there are similar trends. In 1991/92 academic year, according to the Razumkov Centre, 49% of high school students were receiving their education in Ukrainian, and 50% in Russian.

Ukraine is a popular destination for education among Asian and African students. There are more than 63,000 students from 130 countries of the world now. A lot of non government companies try to help students from all over the world apply to one of the universities in Ukraine. An example of this is the Ukrainian Educational Agency.

The education of about 5.5 million children was affected by the war with about 22 schools being attacked daily, per the Save the Children organization and official Ukrainian figures. A survey by the Ukrainian government estimated in June 2022 that 5.7 million school aged children aged between 3 and 18 years old had been affected by the war and of those 2.8 million were displaced. In early April 2022, it was reported that at least 869 education facilities or about 6% of schools in Ukraine had been damaged, with about 83 completely destroyed and other classroom being used as emergency accommodation. Additionally there was a lack of teachers, which had been a concern prior to the invasion, but majorly teachers were female and became refugees elsewhere with their children. The Ukrainian government paused all education for a few days when the war first broke out, before returning to online learning that had been the precedent from the COVID 19 pandemic, with some schools re opening in person teaching by May 2022 in less affected areas. For the start of the 2022–2023 academic year many Ukrainian schools attempted to re open for the school year, however many are heavily damaged from the war and lack safe locations for pupils and educators if the buildings come under attack. In January 2023, the UNICEF said education for more than 5 million children was disrupted by the war in Ukraine. The use of explosive weapons in the conflict destructed thousands of schools and other educational buildings throughout Ukraine, especially those located in densely populated areas. The UNICEF urged for more support to ensure access to offline learning resources and supplies for children.

According to British economist Frances Cairncross (in April 2010), "Ukrainian education is too inward looking, too corrupt and too poor to do a good job". According to Swedish economist Anders Åslund (in October 2012) the best parts of the Ukrainian education system are basic education in mathematics and science;

Ukrainian professor Базалук Олег Олександрович reports that the Ukrainian education provides for a student nothing more than an illusion of training. As a result, the majority of the Ukrainian graduates do not possess even a basic level of professional knowledge when they leave their schools. Due to extremely ineffective educational policy of the Ukrainian government and ubiquitous corruption the everyday life of the society has been significantly changed. The new developed qualities of the social transformation include aggression, rudeness, intolerance, boastfulness, reticence etc. In 2013, the education system received the third highest percentage among Ukrainians of having given a bribe too with 33%.