Blog: Students – the driving force of the Revolution of Dignity and the reform of higher education

This year we will celebrate the eleventh anniversary of the Revolution of Dignity – an event that radically changed Ukraine and significantly influenced geopolitical processes in Europe and the world. And it all began on November 21, 2013, when the Azarov government announced the suspension of the process of preparing for the signing of the Association Agreement with the European Union.

The first to mobilize were students, who initially went out to protest peacefully and, thus, became the driving force of the Maidan. The youth, who saw their future in the family of democratic countries, categorically did not accept the desire of the then government to turn Ukraine to the East and once again make it a vassal of the eternal enemy – Russia. The then government did not even hide this, because the government order itself stated that it was necessary to “resume an active dialogue with the Russian Federation and other countries of the Customs Union and CIS member states regarding the revival of trade and economic ties in order to preserve and strengthen the economic potential of the state through joint efforts.”

However, these intentions were thwarted by young people – students from several higher education institutions who came to Maidan Nezalezhnosti to express their protest. The subsequent events of the Revolution of Dignity are known to everyone, so I will not dwell on them in detail. The main thing is that Ukraine defended its European choice. Russia did not accept this and launched armed aggression against our state, which has been going on for more than 10 years.

I made this “digression” from the central topic to which my column is dedicated on purpose. After all, it was after the Revolution of Dignity that the flywheel of processes related to the reform of Ukrainian higher education accelerated. Innovative provisions and ideas were introduced into the law “On Higher Education” adopted in 2014, and, it should be noted, this law was constantly improved during this time. A powerful impetus to the processes of reforming the sector was the Association Agreement signed by Ukraine with the European Union, which provided for specific areas of cooperation. In particular, the parties undertook to intensify cooperation with the aim of:

1. reforming and modernizing higher education systems;
2. promoting convergence in the field of higher education, which is taking place within the framework of the Bologna Process;
3. improving the quality and importance of higher education;
4. deepening cooperation between higher education institutions;
5. expanding the capabilities of higher education institutions;
6. increasing the mobility of students and teachers;
7. Attention will be paid to cooperation in the field of education with the aim of simplifying access to higher education.

I will focus on the last point – simplifying access to higher education and, in particular, on one of the latest initiatives of the Government – Bill No. 10399, as a mechanism to ensure this access.

Educational grants – a revolution in higher education

In fact, a big step towards the full functioning of the system of state educational grants was taken back in July 2024. Then the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted Resolution No. 822 “On the implementation of a pilot project on the provision of state grants for higher education”. Participants in the pilot project can be education seekers and educational institutions, and the Ministry of Education has been appointed as the coordinator. The resolution provides for full or partial payment of tuition fees for those applicants who have signed a relevant agreement with the Ministry of Education. Educational institutions, in turn, in order to participate in the project, had to comply with the requirements of the Procedure for forming the minimum tuition fee for higher education based on indicative cost, approved by Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated March 3, 2020 No. 191 “Some issues of introducing indicative cost”.

As the Vice Prime Minister for Innovation, Development of Education, Science and Technology – Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov emphasized at the time: “The new funding system is about the principle of “money follows the student.”

Even before the issuance of this resolution, the Cabinet of Ministers developed the Draft Law “On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine on Financing Higher Education and Providing State Targeted Support to Its Applicants”, which was submitted to the Verkhovna Rada on January 10 and was adopted by the parliament as a basis on March 20. It is now awaiting its second reading and, I hope, will be adopted at the current session of the parliament.

As the developer of the document notes, its goal is to reform the system of financing higher education based on diversifying the methods of financial support for students’ education, increasing the efficiency of using public funds in terms of financing state orders, targeting state targeted support, and improving the mechanism for forming and distributing state orders.

What is included in the bill?

First, the scaling of the grant system of education. This is a truly revolutionary innovation and it involves the state providing grants to talented students studying under a contract. Before that, as you know, there were only two forms – budget and contract. Now, students studying under a contract can apply for a grant.

The draft State Budget of Ukraine for 2025 provides for UAH 169.3 billion (2% of GDP) for the education sector. Of this amount, UAH 28 billion will be allocated to training specialists at institutions of professional pre-higher and higher education under state orders and providing state grants for obtaining higher education. As noted by Oleg Sharov, Director General of the Directorate of Professional Pre-Higher and Higher Education of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, in the 2024/2025 academic year, about 16 thousand students who received the required number of points on the National Secondary Education Examination (150 or more points in each of two subjects) will be able to apply for grants.

The size of educational grants.

The amount of assistance is from 15 to 50 thousand hryvnias. This money can only be used for education. It is impossible to use it for any other purpose or convert it into cash.

In this regard, we differ somewhat from our European colleagues. For example, in Germany, it was calculated that the average student needs 1,150 euros per month to study in this country. This amount includes semester fees, living expenses (rent, current expenses), health insurance and, depending on the state where the higher education institution is located, tuition fees (in some cases, it is not charged). In order to ensure access to higher education and expand the student population in the country, the state agency DAAD operates. Every year, it provides almost 60 thousand scholarships and grants, and students studying in German higher education institutions can use these funds for the above-mentioned expenses.

France also has a system of educational grants. Even foreign students are eligible for them. These issues fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 25% of these scholarships are directly funded by the Ministry under the Eiffel Excellence Scholarship Program, and the rest are the responsibility of French embassies in various countries. In addition, educational grants are provided by the Ministry of Higher Education and Research (the criterion here is certain social categories) and regional authorities. Regional scholarships are often provided to foreign students through bilateral exchange agreements with foreign universities. And, of course, Erasmus+ student mobility scholarships.

In the United States, the government, universities and colleges themselves, as well as numerous non-governmental organizations and foundations, can fund the education of talented students. A popular practice is for private sponsors and businesses to pay for education.

But in the UK, the model is similar to ours. There, grants and scholarships usually cover part of the tuition fees.

Who can apply for a grant?

Since the restoration of Independence, students have been divided into two categories. The first is actually those who study on the budget (state order, that is, when the state covers 100% of tuition fees). The state order itself is formed based on the state’s needs for certain specialists. Previously, there were up to 40% of students studying on the budget. With the adoption of the bill, the Ministry of Education claims that within 5 years their share will decrease to 25-30% (state and regional order). But at the same time, a category of students will appear who will be able to receive an educational grant from the state (35-40%). Contract workers will also be able to apply for such grants.

The second category is those students (there will be about 35-40%) who will pay the full amount of the contract. So, the initiative will truly increase access to higher education for our youth.

As for specialties, today the greatest need is for doctors, engineers, agronomists, cybersecurity specialists, teachers, etc. It is logical that a larger share of budget funding will be provided for such students.

In general, such initiatives can be welcomed, but the reform of higher education institutions themselves should be continued. In this context, there are also certain movements – the Ministry of Education plans to reduce their number to 100 (from the current 121) by unification. But this is not enough. In order for our educational institutions to take worthy positions in global rankings, such as Academic Ranking of World Universities, QS World University Rankings, U-Multirank, they must comply with the trend – to focus on the results of scientific research.

Source: Інтерфакс-Україна