Gold and silver medals, once considered prestigious honors for graduates, are becoming a thing of the past. From now on, students who demonstrate a high level of knowledge will not receive the traditional metal awards, but instead their achievements will be recorded in the certificate of education. This decision became one of the first innovations in the educational system of Ukraine in 2025.
Cancellation of medals
In Ukraine, 11th grade graduates will no longer be awarded gold and silver medals for special academic achievements. Instead, the wording «with honors» will be used in education documents.
Appropriate order of the Ministry of Education and Science entered into force after its official registration in the Ministry of Justice. Under the new regulations, the Regulations on Gold and Silver Medals have lapsed, and from now on education certificates will not indicate a specific award. Graduates who have achieved high academic results will receive a certificate of completion of general secondary education with honors, as before, but without specifying the type of award.
Why did they decide to cancel the medals?
Until recently, receiving a medal was a prestigious achievement for schoolchildren and their parents. However, over time, this tradition began to lose its value. One of the main reasons was the rapid increase in the number of medalists: in six years, the number of such graduates increased by more than 140%. However, officials emphasize that this did not always reflect the true level of students’ knowledge.
Distance learning, which has become the norm after 2020, and the difficult conditions that have arisen after 2024 have affected the quality of education. In many cases, medals have become less of an award for outstanding academic achievement and more of a formality. Honors students often did not demonstrate in-depth knowledge in real-world settings, and their grades did not always correspond to the level of competence.
Financial aspect
Another important reason for canceling medals is budgetary costs. In the last three years alone, the state has spent more than 5 million hryvnias on the production of gold and silver medals. At the same time, their practical value was minimal, because when entering the university, the medal almost never gave significant advantages. In fact, it turned into a symbolic award that did not have a significant impact on the further educational or professional career of graduates.
As noted by former educational ombudsman Serhiy Gorbachev, only in 2023 the state spent 1.8 million hryvnias on the purchase of 21,300 medals, and in 2022 — 1.77 million hryvnias for 20,600 awards. This decision will allow not only to save budget funds, but also to make the honors system more transparent and in line with the real academic achievements of graduates.
What will be instead of medals
Instead of traditional awards in the form of medals, graduates who have successfully completed their studies will be awarded a certificate with distinction. It will have a special note confirming a high level of academic achievement. This approach will make the assessment of knowledge more objective and eliminate situations where medals were awarded simply for «good grades».
In addition, schools were given the opportunity to independently determine ways to encourage students. They can present diplomas, certificates for additional studies or even grants for the development of students’ projects. This approach should stimulate schoolchildren not just to get high grades, but to really improve their knowledge and skills.
What this means for students and teachers
According to the Ministry of Education and Culture, the cancellation of medals will reduce the bureaucratic burden on teachers, who previously had to fill out a large number of documents to receive these awards. The evaluation system will now focus on the quality of the educational process rather than on formal criteria.
For students, it can also be a positive signal: not only grades are important, but also real knowledge, critical thinking and the ability to apply acquired skills in life. From now on, the main criterion for success will not be an award, but real preparation for a future profession or further education.
Although the abolition of medals may seem surprising to many graduates, the reform is not aimed at depriving students of recognition for their achievements, but on the contrary — to make it more equitable. A certificate of education with honors will be an official confirmation of high academic results, without being tied to symbolic «gold» or «silver» medals.
The MES are sure that this approach should help schoolchildren to focus on real learning, and not on formal «hunting» for awards. After all, the main thing is not only to study well, but also to be ready to apply your knowledge in real life.
