Grants instead of 100%, but not for everyone: the Ministry of Education and Science proposes a new system of compensation for the cost of higher education

Compensation of 100% of the cost of education for those enrolled on the state budget is to be replaced by grants, but for some students this system will be preserved, Deputy Minister of Education and Science Mykhailo Vynnytsky said in an interview with NV, UNN reports.

We propose a more equitable system of grants, where we take a certain basket of money that is allocated every year for training, and instead of giving it 100% to state employees, we say: look, according to the results of your NMT-ET, you get an amount of money for training that correlates with your scores

He explained that students will sign a contract with university, "which, for example, will establish that tuition will cost 50 thousand hryvnias per year."

"And you came and said: here I have a grant for 35 thousand. Great. So, the state paid 35 thousand for you, and you pay another 15 thousand yourself through the co-financing mechanism," he said.

The deputy minister emphasized that when students pay for education, its value increases for them.

"For those who cannot afford to pay extra, there are social grants provided to certain categories of people. In addition, a mechanism of soft loans has been proposed. Well, and thirdly, we have a draft law that is now in the second reading in the Rada, on the so-called individual student trajectories, which says that we can reduce the educational load of a student per year for those students who will work and cover the amount of tuition from earned funds," Vynnytsky said.

He also said that the state cannot predict how many managers, journalists, lawyers, IT engineers, and specialists in many other specialties it will need in five years.

"But we can predict how many doctors, teachers, power engineers to work at nuclear power plants, graduates of transport universities we will need. The specialties where we can predict remain in the state order, the state orders them from institutions, pays 100% for their training and may even provide them with an increased scholarship if they are ready to accept the guaranteed first job provided by the state. For all other specialists, whose orders we cannot predict, we introduce the possibility of obtaining a grant and co-financing their education," Vynnytsky said.

According to the deputy minister, the initiative, which will change the current ratio of 40% of state employees to 60% of contract employees, is planned to be implemented for those entering their first year of study starting September 2024.

"60% of applicants will receive state support, in different proportions, and 40% will pay for themselves. And this will make the balance more fair," he said.