Ukraine to inspect 50 more educational institutions amid surge in students aged 25+

Ukraine plans to inspect around 50 more colleges and higher education institutions where an abnormal increase in students aged over 25 has been recorded.

This was reported to Ukrinform by Ruslan Hurak, Head of the State Service for Education Quality.

“We continue these inspections. By the end of the year, several checks are planned, and at the beginning of the next academic year, work will continue. We have scheduled inspections for 50 more colleges and higher education institutions. How many students may be expelled? We will see based on the results,” Hurak said.

He emphasized that the main focus is currently on colleges, since the Ministry of Education and the Verkhovna Rada have limited admissions to higher education institutions, leading most older applicants to choose colleges.

According to Hurak, approximately 50,000 students have already been expelled.

“To understand the scale: for many years, Ukrainian educational institutions consistently had about 30,000 students aged over 25. This included all forms – professional pre-higher education, higher education, second higher education, and postgraduate studies. Now, however, the number of such students is 250,000. That is, the student body increased by 220,000 in wartime conditions,” Hurak added.

He stressed that this surge prompted the inspections.

Earlier, the State Service for Education Quality had already inspected around 50 educational institutions and discovered a number of schemes through which applicants over 25 became students to obtain deferments from military mobilization.

As a result of the inspections, eight criminal cases were opened, deans and rectors were detained, and reports were submitted to the Ministry of Education regarding the revocation of licenses for two institutions. Nearly 50,000 students were expelled from colleges and universities.

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