Ukrainian government appoints acting education minister

The Cabinet of Ministers has appointed Yuriy Polyukhovych as acting minister of education and science of Ukraine.

A respective decision was made at a government meeting on Tuesday, March 10, according to the press service of the Ministry of Education and Science.

"It is very important that the principle of continuity of power work. The Ministry of Education and Science cannot be left without a chairman because, in fact, this completely stops work. It is an honor for me to fulfill the minister's duties. I will do my best to ensure that the ministry works smoothly and properly performs its functions," Polyukhovych said.

From 2014 to 2016, Polyukhovych served as an adviser to the education and science minister pro bono. Since 2017, he has headed NGO Ukrainian Research Foundation.

On September 11, 2019, he was appointed the first deputy minister of education and science.

On March 4, at a snap meeting, the Verkhovna Rada supported the resignation of Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk and appointed Denys Shmyhal as the new head of government. The parliament also approved the composition of the new government, but Education Minister Hanna Novosad did not retain her post. The post of the education minister remained vacant, as well as the posts of the heads of the Ministry of Energy and Environmental Protection, the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture, and the Ministry of Culture.

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