Simplified admission for applicants with TOT: how to apply to higher educational institutions
Children growing up during the war have to think about obtaining higher education in completely different conditions than the pre-war educational system. In many cases, in the temporarily occupied territory, they live without the Internet and the ability to go to schools that work according to the Ukrainian program, and without state documents. Often they don’t even have access to online resources that could fill in the gaps. Some families deliberately hide their children from local administrations in order to protect them from the influence of Russian educational programs, which means without official school certification, without records in journals, without certificates. Under such conditions, the process of admission to higher educational institutions is extremely difficult, unless certain exceptions and procedures are provided for. It is for such cases that in 2025, a special mechanism for admission through Educational Centers using quota-2 remains valid.
What is quota-2 and for whom it applies
Quota-2 is a state program for entrants from the temporarily occupied territories (TOT) and settlements that are officially included in the combat zones. It allows admission to a budget form of education without a standard competitive procedure based on the scores of the ZNO or NMT — according to a simplified algorithm.
This right is enshrined in the Procedure for admission to study in 2025, approved by order of the Ministry of Education and Culture No. 271. The program is valid not only for higher education, but also for professional pre-higher (college, technical schools) and professional (VET) education.
Entrants who:
– have a registered place of residence in the temporarily occupied territory or in a settlement located in a combat zone on any date between June 1 and September 30 of the year of entry;
– live or have lived in the de-occupied territories, if the release took place after January 1 of the year of entry;
– moved from these territories within the same year.
What should the applicant do: sequence of actions
The first step is to choose an educational institution. It must be a university or college in Ukraine that has an Educational Center “Crimea-Ukraine” or “Donbas-Ukraine”. These centers operate on the basis of the universities themselves and accept documents from entrants from TOT.
After choosing an institution, you need to contact such Educational Center directly – in person, by phone, by e-mail or through the official website. The centers are open from June 1 to September 30. The full list of active centers is published on the website of the Ministry of Education and Culture.
Applicants can submit documents remotely or in person. In some cases, through proxies. Many institutions have hotlines for consultations.
What documents are required for submission
The minimum package of documents includes:
– a statement of the established model;
– an identity document (passport, ID card, IDP certificate or birth certificate);
– 3×4 photo cards (four pieces);
– certificate of secondary education or result of NMT (if available);
– certificate of registration of IDPs (for internally displaced persons);
– a certificate and its appendix (if any);
– or a certificate of successful completion of the annual assessment and state final attestation, issued by an authorized Ukrainian institution of general secondary education.
This last reference is especially important for those who do not have a state certificate. It allows you to submit documents to the university even without certificates of external examination or NMT.
When and how to submit documents
Two waves have been established for admission to higher education institutions in 2025:
- The first wave (budget) — from July 19 to August 1 (until 6:00 p.m.). During this period, applications for the budgetary form of education are accepted.
- The second wave (contract with the possibility of transfer to the budget) — from July 19 to September 23. Those who have entered into a contract can claim to be transferred to a vacant state contract position.
Also, registration for creative contests and interviews began on July 3. This is important for admission to art, journalism, sports and some humanitarian specialties.
If the entrant does not have a certificate of education of the Ukrainian model, it is recommended to contact the Education Center as early as possible – from June 1, in order to have time to go through the annual assessment procedure and receive a certificate.
There are separate deadlines for colleges and technical schools
Two stages are also provided for professional higher education institutions:
– Stage I (on the budget): acceptance of applications and tests from July 1 to 23 (until 6:00 p.m.);
– II stage (for a contract with the possibility of transfer to the budget): from July 24 to September 30.
The rules for references, certificates and documents are identical to those for admission to universities.
Quota-2 is an attempt to equalize the rights of applicants who physically do not have access to Ukrainian education with those who had the opportunity to study under normal conditions. This system was not created for simplification as such, but for the removal of artificial barriers that arose not through the fault of the children themselves, but because of hostilities, occupation, destruction of infrastructure and restrictions on rights.
Applying to the Education Center is the only legal channel through which an entrant from TOT can obtain official status in the Ukrainian education system. After that, he has all the legal rights to enrollment, a scholarship, living in a dormitory, participation in support programs, and most importantly, a state diploma.
