Ukraine is tightening control over the issuance of diplomas to medical professionals. Starting in 2024, the Unified State Electronic Database on Education (USEDE) will introduce a blocking function that makes it impossible to order a diploma for students who have not passed the Unified State Qualification Examination (USQE), Dzerkalo Tyzhnia reports.
According to Lesya Oliynyk, Director of the Testing Centre at the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, this helps prevent violations of educational standards and ensure that only those who have truly confirmed their knowledge and qualifications will receive a diploma. From now on, if there is no information in the EDEBO about the successful completion of the KROK exam, the diploma simply cannot be issued.
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This function is already in place for medical graduates, and from 2025 it will be extended to bachelors and students of professional higher education. In previous years, there have been cases of diplomas being issued even to those who have not officially passed the exams. For example, in one of the educational institutions, a student received a diploma with an open indication ‘KROK was not passed’.
The USE (KROK) is mandatory for future doctors and consists of several stages covering theoretical knowledge in fundamental and clinical disciplines. This not only improves the quality of training, but also minimises corruption risks in education. According to Oliynyk, it is now almost impossible to obtain a diploma by circumventing the law.
In addition, Ukraine has received high praise for its tests from international partners, who are even requesting the use of Ukrainian tests in their countries. In the near future, further improvements to the exam system are planned, including strengthening measures to combat irregularities and improving the quality of test items.
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