Towards the test under fire: how graduates from the Kherson region will take the NMT in 2026

The war has turned the preparation for final exams for schoolchildren from the Kherson region into a difficult route, in which knowledge is no longer enough without endurance, caution and the ability to calculate the route to a safe place in advance. For some children, the national multi-subject test in 2026 will mean not the usual trip to the nearest school, but an independent trip to another city or taking the exam outside Ukraine, and each such decision depends on the security situation, the accessibility of the route and the ability to get to the testing point on time.

What will change for graduates from the Kherson region

There will be no organized transportation for graduates from the Kherson region this year. This was announced by Maksym Kyrpenko, director of the Kherson Regional Center for Education Quality Assessment, explaining this decision by the risks posed by any gathering of people during the war.

Due to the security situation, each NMT participant must independently plan the route to the testing point and the method of transportation. For graduates from Kherson, the nearest locations remain the points in Mykolaiv, so for many schoolchildren, preparation for the test will also include the road, which will have to be thought out in advance, taking into account all the risks and possible delays.

 “Any convoys, any gathering of children is a dangerous story,” – explained the reason for refusing organized transportation Maksym Kyrpenko

According to him, graduates should assess in advance the possibility of leaving closer to the testing location in order to reduce the risk of being late or failing to participate in the main session.

“If there is an opportunity to leave a day or two closer to the test location, it is better to do so,” – he explains.

How participants find out where the test will be held

Participants will receive an invitation-pass 10 days before the test. This document will indicate the NMT location, so each graduate will be able to determine the final route only after receiving information about the specific location.

For schoolchildren from the frontline region, such a system means additional stress, since preparing for the exam is combined with the need to quickly organize a trip, find accommodation near the testing point, or calculate the route in such a way as to avoid unnecessary risks on the day of the test.

The opportunity to take the NMT abroad

Ukrainian graduates who are outside the country can take the national multi-subject test abroad. According to Maksym Kyrpenko, about 20 thousand participants out of approximately 350 thousand in total use this opportunity every year.

“More than 30 countries where testing points will be created, where our children will take the test,” – he said.

For children from the temporarily occupied territories, testing points are available in Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, European countries, as well as in the USA and Canada. At the same time, it is impossible to take the NMT remotely, so participation in the test in any case requires physical presence at the examination center.

What to do if a participant did not get to the main session

In case of missing the test due to a good reason, the participant has three days to submit documents for participation in an additional session. There are 11 grounds for such a decision, which were also reported by the director of the regional center for assessing the quality of education.

“There are 11 reasons that allow children to get to an additional session,” – emphasized Maksym Kyrpenko.

However, even the presence of an additional session does not eliminate the main problem for children from the occupied territories, since the difficulty and danger of leaving remain, and therefore the risk of failing the test for some graduates remains high.

How many students from the Kherson region registered for the NMT

This year, almost 1,800 students from the Kherson region registered to take the national multi-subject test. Less than 400 of them will take the NMT in Mykolaiv, while the rest will take the test in almost 20 countries around the world.

Last year, 930 graduates from educational institutions in the Kherson community took the national multi-subject test. Among them, 13 students received the highest 200 points in one or two subjects, and about 35% of Kherson graduates took the test abroad.