“Taking your son out at 17 is an irrational panic”: Vynnytskyi on the admission campaign and the abuse of education to avoid mobilization

Against the background of intensifying discussions about mobilization and the need to provide the army with human resources, there is another sensitive issue in Ukraine – the guarantee of access to education. Despite the war, thousands of young people in the country try to enter universities every year, and this process requires stability, predictability and government support. The 2025 campaign was no exception: registration for the National Multi-Subject Test (NMT) has already been completed, and as emphasizes Deputy Minister of Education and Science Mykhailo Vynnytskyi, the system, despite the wartime conditions, shows signs of stabilization.

According to him, 312,000 participants successfully registered this year, of which almost 21,000 are those who will take the test abroad. Thus, Vynnytskyi believes that fears about a sharp decrease in the number of entrants turned out to be groundless. Compared to last year, the quantitative indicators remained at the same level, so the panic was premature. According to the official, achieving stability in the conditions of war is already a significant achievement.

The fourth subject of NMT — participant’s choice — this year, 115,000 chose English, 73,000 — for geography, 62,000 — for biology, and 46,500 — for Ukrainian literature. At the same time, Vynnytskyi expressed deep concern about the low popularity of physics and chemistry — only nine and three thousand people chose these subjects, respectively. He emphasized that this threatens the natural and engineering fields and requires urgent intervention.

In this regard, an innovation was introduced in the 2025 Admission Procedure: entrants who choose physics or chemistry as the fourth subject are given preference in the formation of the competitive score. According to him, such an advantage will be different depending on the specialty — the greatest for natural sciences, less for engineering, and even less for socio-economic. Vynnytskyi emphasized that this norm will remain valid for the following years, and therefore, students of grades 9-10 should seriously think about choosing a study profile.

Grants became another important mechanism of support. In 2025, the system becomes more accessible: now, according to the deputy minister, to receive a first-level grant (for certain specialties), it is enough to pass two NMT subjects for 140 points, instead of 150, as before. This applies to specialties with special support from the state – natural sciences, engineering, medicine, education, as well as those related to the reconstruction of infrastructure. Indexation is also provided: the first-level grant will amount to 16.8 thousand hryvnias, the second – 28 thousand.

Speaking about the geographical priorities of the entrants, Vynnytskyi admits that the situation has radically changed compared to pre-war times. Lviv confidently takes second place after Kyiv, and Kharkiv is losing ground due to security threats. At the same time, the popularity of Dnipro is growing, which shows that entrants focus not only on safety, but also on the quality of education. The situation in Sumy requires special attention, where, despite the high potential of Sumy State University, due to shelling, the number of those willing to enter there is significantly decreasing.

Vinnytsia draws attention to the growing role of smaller university towns — Uzhhorod, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi. Their universities are showing not only academic growth, but also increasing attractiveness among applicants. He cites examples: the Carpathian National University, the Technical University of Oil and Gas, the Uzhgorod National University, the Fedkovych University of Chernivtsi — all of them are strengthening their positions on the educational map of the country.

Odesa, according to him, has long been a city-exporter of entrants. The reason is the excessive number of fragmented universities and the loss of competitiveness. The Ministry of Education and Culture is working on the unification of higher education institutions in order to consolidate institutions and concentrate resources. As an example, he cites the merger of the Law Academy and the Environmental University with the Odessa Mechnikov University. Students and teachers, he assured, only benefited from investments in the scientific and educational base.

Vynnytskyi paid special attention to the state order. While the resolution is in the approval stage, however, it is already clear that priority will be given to specialties related to infrastructure reconstruction, human capital, medicine, education, and fundamental sciences. Psychology, which was in the top in 2024, this time falls into the list of “conjunctural” specialties, where the number of applicants exceeds the needs of the market.

Vynnytskyi also drew attention to the dilemma regarding grants and state contracts. If a capable entrant chooses a specialty that is not needed by the market, the question arises: should it be financed by taxpayers’ money? That is why the mechanism of co-financing was introduced: the state partially covers the education, the rest is paid by the student or his family.

The increase in the cost of contract training is not only a consequence of inflation. As the Deputy Minister of Education and Science emphasized, the problem also lies in the low level of teachers’ remuneration. Their salaries depend not only on rates, but also on the number of students and the amount they pay for education. If last year the average cost of a contract in institutions of higher education was 35-38 thousand hryvnias per year, then this year it is expected to increase to the level of about 50 thousand. According to Vynnytskyi, this corresponds to the amount that the state spends on the education of one budget student.

At the same time, he admits that such a financial burden is unbearable for many families. It is for such cases that state grants are introduced to reduce the personal financial burden. As Vynnytskyi explained, under the new scheme, if a student pays 35 thousand hryvnias, another 15-16 thousand can be compensated through a grant. Thus, on the one hand, contract education becomes more expensive, on the other hand, the state assumes part of the costs, provided that the NMT results are high.

Separately, he focused on a new idea that is currently awaiting approval by the parliament. It is about changing the concept of the state order, which involves not only funding, but also an obligation on the part of the student. If the future specialist studied on the budget, the state will have the right to expect a certain contribution from him – work in a specialty after receiving a diploma. This requirement will apply to doctors, teachers and other important specialties for the country. According to Vynnytskyi, this will not be an imposed distribution, but a competitive assignment of the first workplace, organized by the State Employment Service with the involvement of real employers.

The topic of preferential categories remains no less sensitive. The number of entrants with benefits is increasing and, as the deputy minister admitted, this may affect access to free education for other applicants. In order to avoid this conflict, the MES developed draft law No. 10399, which proposes a new mechanism — special grants for beneficiaries. If such a person does not go through a budget competition or does not receive a standard state grant, his education can still be financed — no longer through the general state procurement system, but through a separate special program. This will avoid competition for places with other applicants and at the same time guarantee access to education for veterans, children of military personnel and other categories.

The changes will also affect the master’s degree. Vynnytskyi said that from now on, all applicants will take the Unified Entrance Examination (UEI), regardless of specialty. For some areas, the Unified professional entrance test will also be introduced – a kind of state professional exam. This will unify the system and make it more transparent.

As for admission to postgraduate studies, this year will be the first time that centralized admission through electronic offices and a separate entrance exam in the form of an external examination on the methodology of scientific research will be implemented. According to the deputy minister, this new approach is not an absolute guarantee against corruption, because the final decision is still made by institutions. However, the system has definitely become tougher and more objective. Also, as Vynnytskyi clarified, the full-time form of study at the graduate school will be exclusively budgetary, and the contract will only be part-time. The allocation of places will depend on scientific publications, the potential of teachers and the results of previous dissertation defenses.

Speaking about the main difference of this year’s campaign, Vynnytskyi called the emphasis on preventing abuse of education as a tool to avoid mobilization. According to him, more than a hundred educational institutions are currently being checked for actual training of men over the age of 25 who were enrolled in full-time training. Inspections take place physically – in classrooms. And while some of these students will be expelled, Wynnytskyi emphasized that a significant number of such men actually take their studies seriously and often demonstrate an example of conscious, motivated pursuit of education. Such students, in his opinion, are the future human capital that the country needs.

Another important change, he called the indicative cost price — the minimum level of the cost of education on the contract, which institutions do not have the right to reduce. This causes resistance among military personnel in the front-line areas, where there is a risk of losing recruits. However, Vynnytskyi is convinced that lowering prices is a way to devalue the quality of education. Therefore, the key task of the Ministry of Education and Culture is to find a balance between the availability of education and its quality. The expansion of the grant system and the introduction of transparent support mechanisms for students with limited financial opportunities should play a decisive role in this.

In general, Vynnytskyi expressed restrained optimism regarding the 2025 admissions campaign: the system can withstand the challenges of war, but needs further development, especially in the context of forecasting the needs of the labor market, informing entrants and transforming educational geography.

There is growing concern in society about the mass departure of high school students abroad, especially boys, due to fears of mobilization. Many believe that such a trend can significantly affect the system of higher education in Ukraine. However, for in words Deputy Minister of Education and Science Mykhailo Vynnytskyi, the real situation is much less dramatic than it is often presented in social networks.

He cited official figures: last year, 312,508 people registered to take the national multi-subject test (NMT). This year — 312,490. The difference is only 18 people, which, from the point of view of the overall scale, is a statistical error. As Vynnytskyi emphasized, this dynamic testifies to the stability of the process, and not to the flight of potential students. Of the more than 312,000 participants this year, about 20,000 will be NMT abroad — almost as many as last year, when this figure was 21,000.

He especially emphasized: there is no point in passing the NMT if a person does not plan to enter a Ukrainian higher education institution. Therefore, the very fact of registration is evidence of the intention to remain in the Ukrainian educational space – at least in terms of obtaining higher education. Moreover, many of those who have lived abroad for some time have seen from their own experience the limited educational prospects in some European countries, and are returning to Ukrainian universities. According to Vynnytskyi, this is a sign of the attractiveness of the national education system.

At the same time, he admitted that a certain loss really occurred – it is about foreign students. If there were 83,000 of them before the full-scale invasion, now there are only 8,000. According to him, this is a serious financial loss for the higher education system. But if you focus not only on money, but on the mission of education — the formation of an educated Ukrainian nation — statistics show that Ukrainians continue to choose their own education system.

Another real challenge is the reduction in the number of students in grades 10-11. Vynnytskyi confirmed this decline. However, according to him, many of those who are currently abroad at school age, later return to the Ukrainian system already at the level of admission to universities. He described this process as a natural demographic movement that has a two-way character: leaving the country and returning back.

At the same time, Vynnytskyi admitted: of course, there are people who are afraid of mobilization. But he urged not to panic. He gave a personal example, noting that fears are often irrational — like his wife’s claustrophobia. In his opinion, a similar irrationality is the fear of mobilization for boys who are not yet 18. He reminded that the mobilization limit in Ukraine is set at 25 years, and currently there are no official plans to lower it. Therefore, according to him, the decision to “take away my son at the age of 17 because he is being mobilized” is not only unfounded, but also disorienting.

In conclusion, Vynnytskyi insists: the statistics do not confirm fears that Ukraine is losing its best recruits due to fears of mobilization. On the contrary, the numbers indicate stability and even — in some aspects — confidence in the Ukrainian higher education system.