In early August, Ukrainian universities rounded up their admission campaigns, and the results surprised many education experts who were expecting low student numbers. In fact, there were 638,000 applications this year – ten percent more than in 2024.
Currently, Ukraine has around 300 higher education institutions, but by 2030, the Ministry of Education plans to reduce this list to 100 by merging some institutions and closing others. According to a ministry representative, reducing the number of universities is in line with the higher education reforms necessary for European integration.
Full-time male students receive a deferment from mobilization provided they are in higher education for the first time. So, as you would expect, a proportion of students starting degree courses this year will be over 24 years old. The deferment applies to students of any age. For a man who has not thought about higher education until now, starting a degree is one of the most straightforward ways to postpone being called up. In addition, education in Ukraine, even in private universities, is relatively inexpensive. For example, the fee for one year (two semesters), on a political science degree course, at Kyiv National University, is Hr. 62,000, equating to about $1,500
Other legal ways to avoid mobilization include working in the defense industry or in critical infrastructure enterprises. Many men working in these spheres are recognized as being in reserved occupations, but they must renew the documents related to their status each year – a time-consuming process. Students, on the other hand, maintain their deferred status throughout their degree courses. What is more, under the academic mobility program, students may be able to spend one semester in a foreign university. Of the 4,000 Ukrainian students who went abroad last year, only eight people failed to return home on time.
Universities are still trying to offer a range of extra-curricular activities, but finances are stretched, and students may have to create their own entertainment or get involved with one of the many university-based projects directed towards the war effort. For example, a range of drone modifications used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been devised by students at universities. This could perhaps explain the recent rocket attacks on the Kyiv Polytechnic University.
Russian missiles and drones have, so far, destroyed four Ukrainian universities, seven colleges, and 394 schools. The buildings of 117 other universities and 162 colleges have been partially destroyed or damaged.
Cracking the code
Recently, Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service organized an unusual competition for students and all cryptography enthusiasts. Together with the National Bank, they issued a commemorative coin dedicated to the Service. On the coin, in the code used by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army during the Second World War, they encoded a quotation from the lawyer and politician, Mykola Mikhnovsky (1873-1924), who was a well-known ideologist of Ukrainian independence.
According to the Foreign Intelligence Service, among the winners was a group of students from several universities in Malaysia. There is no information about whether any Ukrainian students were able to crack the code. Either they were not able to do so, or they were congratulated on their success away from the glare of the press.
The following phrase was encrypted on the five-hryvnia coin: “We are a handful, but love for Ukraine makes us strong. There are few of us, but our voice will be heard throughout Ukraine, and he who has a pure heart will respond to our call himself. And to those who have a vile heart, we will come ourselves.”
Legacy of Mykola Mikhnovsky
In 1902, Mykola Mikhnovsky founded the Ukrainian People’s Party – the first political force to openly advocate for Ukraine’s independence from the Russian Empire.
There is another episode in his biography that resonates with the situation today. In 1904, when Russia was celebrating the 250th anniversary of the “annexation of Little Russia (Ukraine) to the Russian Empire”, Mikhnovsky organized an act of terrorism in Kharkiv – a monument to Alexander Pushkin was blown up. The attack was carried out by an underground combat group of the Ukrainian People’s Party called “Defense of Ukraine.” Other attacks planned for that day – the explosion of monuments to the Russian emperors in Odesa and Kyiv – were not carried out.
Mikhnovsky was not much respected by his colleagues in Ukrainian political life, who in some cases considered him an adventurer and demagogue and in others an uneducated and dangerous radical. In any case, he contributed to the political development of Ukrainian society and even influenced the formation of the Ukrainian army during the Civil War 1918-1921. His political biography, with all its pros and cons, is now included in high school history textbooks.
The views expressed are the author’s and not necessarily of Kyiv Post.