The 2024 admissions campaign in Ukraine has already gained momentum, opening up new opportunities for applicants seeking higher education. However, despite reforms and innovations aimed at facilitating the entry process, many young people continue to face numerous challenges. Changes in the procedure for submitting documents, new rules for preparing an external independent assessment (EXA), financial difficulties and other factors make the path to education no less difficult than before.
What difficulties did applicants face?
Often, future students face difficulties due to the wide variety of the system for calculating the received points. The following types of points are distinguished:
- rating;
- competitive;
- minimum;
- passable.
The rating score is calculated by converting the received test scores into rating scores using special tables adopted by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. According to the received calculations, applicants need to score at least 100 points on the NMT, which make up 15% of the correct answers for each subject on the exam. In order to obtain a competitive score, the rating points for each subject are multiplied by the weighting coefficients approved by the Ministry of Education and Culture. Applicants are also credited with the sum of these points for creative competition, bachelor’s entrance exam, industry and regional coefficients.
The passing score is formed based on a broad rating list with a description of the number of budget seats. Applicants with high marks are at the top of the list, and all others are reduced by the corresponding number of places. The rating score of an applicant who received a budget place is taken into account as a passing score for free education. This score changes each subsequent year.
The minimum competitive score for most specialties is set by educational institutions independently, but for specific specialties this score is calculated by the Ministry of Education and Science. As an example of such specialties, we can cite “Medicine”, “International Law” and “International Economic Relations”, for admission to which applicants must have a competitive score of at least 150 points. For other applicants, the threshold score for admission to the budget is 130 points.
For those who want to enter the master’s program, it is necessary to take a single entrance exam (EVI), in which applicants must score at least five test points from both parts of the exam in order to take part in the competitive selection. In addition, in some specialties, future master’s students also take a single professional entrance exam, to pass which it is necessary to overcome the limit of 35 test points. If the applicant takes only the EVI, then he comes to the examination center only once, and if he needs to additionally pass a single professional entrance test (EEVV), then the exams must be taken for two days. When future masters have not yet decided on a specialty, they have the right to choose two exam subjects, due to which such applicants take three exams in three days.
According to the website vstup.edbo.gov.ua, 199,114 electronic applications are currently registered in the electronic offices of entrants, amounting to 108,553 persons. Among the applications that were submitted by students personally, there are 14,457, which is 9,962 people. Applications close on July 31, so applicants still have time to decide which majors to apply for.
Difficult choice of profession
During the admissions campaign, applicants face a difficult choice of which profession to choose. And here it is important to be guided by the demands of the labor market. As of 2024, Ukraine needs specialists in the following fields:
- information technology (cyber security specialists, software developers and testers, data analysts);
- medicine (doctors and nurses);
- engineering (mechanics, electricity, equipment maintenance technicians);
- construction (architects and builders);
- education (pedagogues, lecturers, distance learning specialists);
- service area (sales managers);
- logistics and transport (logistics, drivers);
- finance (financial analysts, auditors, accountants).
Recently, there has been a striking lack of balance between the number of specialists with higher education and professional and technical education. As a result, we have two electricians for every 10 lawyers, which does not meet the needs of the state at all. Of course, you should study according to your calling, but you shouldn’t dismiss the relevance of your future profession either.
According to the data of the State Statistics Service, 99,900 people entered vocational and technical education institutions, while 250,100 applicants entered higher education institutions. This is explained by the fact that recently a stereotype has formed in society that representatives of professional and technical professions receive low wages compared to people with higher education. Therefore, studying in technical schools and colleges has become unprestigious. In turn, a whole army of economists, lawyers and psychologists appeared in Ukraine, who are faced with the problem of employment, since the state does not need them in such numbers.
To obtain a bachelor’s degree, an applicant must study for four years, while a student of a vocational school has the opportunity to obtain an education in 1-3 years. One of the advantages of technical education is the chance to obtain free of charge more than one professional education and obtain several specialties. However, higher education for bachelor’s and master’s degrees offers only one free opportunity at a time. In addition, there are a significant number of budgetary places in vocational and technical education institutions, while the budget for higher education is rapidly shrinking.
Let’s draw a parallel between the salaries of specialists in higher education and specialists in vocational education.
Specialists with higher education:
- lawyer (20,000 UAH);
- translator (22,000 UAH);
- system administrator (25,000 UAH);
- personnel manager (22,500 UAH);
- psychologist (17,500 UAH).
Specialists with vocational education:
- plumber (18,000 UAH);
- seamstress (20,000 UAH);
- welder (23,500 UAH);
- builder (25,000 UAH);
- locksmith (20,000 UAH).
We see that there is no striking difference between the wage level and the demand in the labor market. Entrants in pursuit of prestige do not pay attention to the main factor, namely, how long it will take to pay off the money spent on education. Taking into account the average salary and the condition that the graduate will remain working in the city where he studied, we can come to the conclusion how many months are needed to return the spent funds. Thus, according to the calculations of “Economic Truth”, it turns out that it is necessary to study the specialties “Law” and “Psychology” for the longest time (12 months) due to the high cost of education and low wages. Also, the calculations indicate that you need to work only 9 months for the “Law” profession, since the salary in this profession is quite high. At the very least, you need to work in the specialty “Psychology” (only 3 months).
In turn, the future electrician spends UAH 10,000 on his training. In order to work off the spent funds with an average salary of UAH 15,000, he needs only 1-2 months. An applicant spends UAH 8,000 to study in the “Construction” specialty, and will pay back the money spent in 1-2 months with a salary of UAH 25,000. And although the professions acquired in higher educational institutions have access to managerial positions, the demand for labor professions in the labor market will always remain relevant.
Difficulties for applicants from front-line territories and TOT
Entrants living in front-line territories and temporarily occupied territories face the greatest difficulties in admission. Regular shelling creates a dangerous situation for life, and the pressure and prohibitions from the aggressor in the temporarily occupied territories make it impossible to even concentrate on the necessary actions regarding entry. Adds a heavy load and constant stress in which the entrants are. Uncertainty about the future and a tense emotional state have a negative impact on exam preparation and learning in general. The state has thought out a number of measures for such vulnerable groups. But are these measures effective in such extremely difficult conditions? Let’s try to figure it out.
Future applicants from such territories have the right to enter universities without a certificate of complete general secondary education. In order to be enrolled in the school program, applicants must pass exams in the Ukrainian language and history of Ukraine. Due to the difficulty of leaving the frontline areas, applicants were allowed to take exams online. However, the procedures for both submitting documents online and passing exams can be jeopardized due to frequent problems with unstable Internet and lack of communication.
After passing all exams, applicants can submit documents to the chosen universities either in person or remotely. To do this, they apply to educational centers at the higher educational institution to which admission is planned.
Those applicants who left the occupation are guaranteed accommodation in dormitories and receiving a social scholarship. In addition, entrants can use the right to quota-2, which provides for the use of budget places to receive entrants from temporarily occupied territories. According to the clauses of quota-2, applicants who live in:
- in temporarily occupied territories;
- in settlements belonging to the territories of active hostilities;
- in settlements that were de-occupied after January 1, 2024;
- at the TOT of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, provided that the basic secondary or full general secondary education was obtained after February 20, 2014.
All these bureaucratic issues make the admission process somewhat difficult for IDP and IDP applicants, as they often face difficulties with identification and proof of residence before moving or confirming the IDP category. For some reason, admission commissions treat such vulnerable groups on the same level as applicants living inside the country and do not understand that it is not difficult, but rather impossible, to get, say, a certificate of residence in the occupied territory.
“Some people came here to the mainland and exchanged their passports for IDs, which do not indicate the residence of their parents. Children are the same. That is, they take away their passports, which state that they are actually registered in Crimea, and return them without registration. And a person cannot prove that he is really from Crimea. This is a problem that must be solved at the highest level and help people join and not make it so that they later refuse because they did not know who to turn to“, – Afize Emiramzayeva, coordinator of the educational center “Crimea – Ukraine”, explains the situation.
Cases of a difficult situation with the acceptance of certificate forms of applicants from the Crimea, as they are filled in Russian, are not rare. Educational institutions are confused by the problems of transliteration of surnames and names, and therefore they simply do not accept such documents. Future applicants from TOT are forced to look for someone to translate their documents professionally.
The experience of last year’s admission campaigns showed that many IDP students had difficulties in confirming their educational qualifications and renewing their studies in educational institutions of Ukraine.
“I finished 3 courses in the occupied territory. I wanted to renew for the 4th year, I was ready to take the exams, but the confirmation procedure turned out to be impossible. Only from the 1st year and only after confirmation of the certificate (I finished 9th grade even before the occupation, studied after the occupation)”, – recalls a student with IDP status.
“In our country, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a separate law on the recognition of the results of those students who studied at the TOT. There will be an opportunity for those people who entered there in those territories whose diplomas are not recognized – they will have the opportunity to apply to authorized centers on the territory of Ukraine for the recognition of the results of the training they obtained at the TOTVitaliy Nosok, an expert of the Directorate of Vocational Pre-Higher and Higher Education of the Ministry of Education and Culture, explained the situation.
We will be able to analyze how this procedure will work in practice upon completion of the introductory campaign.
An important condition for applicants with TOT is the need to appear at the university within three months after submitting the documents. However, this condition becomes a real challenge for them, which can hinder their education.
The issue of awareness is no less important, because due to the disruption of the communication system, applicants living on the TOT and in combat zones simply may not have access to important information regarding the admissions campaign, the deadlines for submitting documents, conducting exams and all the benefits to which they are entitled can count
Despite all the innovations and reforms, the process of admission to higher education institutions remains complex and multifaceted. Young people face various challenges, but even in such conditions, applicants demonstrate high motivation and determination, which inspires hope for the future of Ukrainian education.
