Education is the key to self-realisation and full participation in public life. For people with disabilities and people with special educational needs, access to quality education is a vital criterion. This is not only a human rights issue, but also the basis for creating an inclusive society.
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What are the current challenges in ensuring educational rights in Ukraine?
In Ukraine, the issue of ensuring the right to vocational and higher education for persons with disabilities and persons with special educational needs is regulated by a number of legislative acts, including
- The Constitution of Ukraine;
- The Laws of Ukraine ‘On Education’, ‘On Vocational Education’, ‘On Higher Education’.
- The Law of Ukraine ‘On the Fundamentals of Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities in Ukraine’.
In addition, Ukraine has ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which guarantees inclusive education at all levels in Article 24.
Despite the existence of legal guarantees, in practice, persons with disabilities in Ukraine face numerous difficulties in obtaining vocational and higher education.
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Passing the USQE for master’s students: challenges
In 2024, the Ombudsman’s Office received numerous appeals from master’s students taking the Unified State Qualification Examination (USQE) in the specialities 081 ‘Law’ and 293 ‘International Law’.
The main problems:
- Persons with visual impairments cannot technically read the exam questions;
- persons with impaired musculoskeletal system are unable to arrive at the testing centre;
- lack of adapted conditions for taking the exam.
Another problem is the lack of assistants to vocational teachers in vocational education and training institutions. For example, in 2024, a hearing-impaired applicant was denied admission to the profession of a cook because the institution did not have an assistant who could help her with her studies.
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What steps have been taken to address these issues? The Office of the Ombudsman of Ukraine conducted remote monitoring in 2024:
- July-August – analysis of the conditions for passing the USQE in 20 higher education institutions. The results showed the need to better adapt this exam for people with disabilities;
- November – monitoring in 10 regions of the availability of assistant masters in vocational schools. It was found that such a position is often not even provided for in the staffing table.
Based on the monitoring and the data obtained, I provided recommendations to the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine:
- develop regulations on the conditions for taking the USE that take into account the needs of people with special educational needs;
- to include in the staffing list of vocational (vocational-technical) institutions the position of assistant master of industrial training.
First results:
- The Ministry of Education and Science has developed a draft regulation on the USQE, which provides for the creation of adapted conditions for people with special educational needs;
- amendments were made to the staffing standards of vocational education and training institutions: from now on, such institutions may include the position of an apprenticeship master in their staffing list.
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The issue of vocational education for people with disabilities and people with special educational needs requires significant changes in legislation. Updating legislation should make vocational education not only accessible but also effective. In particular, it is necessary to adopt a new law ‘On Vocational Education’.
Why is this necessary? The Law of Ukraine ‘On Vocational Education’ was adopted in 1998, and it does not currently meet modern challenges. Thus, in 2024, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine drafted a new law ‘On Vocational Education’, which provides for
- new mechanisms for financing vocational education institutions;
- increasing the prestige of vocational education;
- improving the working conditions of teachers;
- matching the educational process with the current needs of the labour market.
In September 2024, I provided my comments on this draft, in particular:
- to expand the circle of representatives of minor students (taking into account the norms of the Family and Civil Codes of Ukraine);
- to exclude the provision on deprivation of academic scholarships as a punishment for failure to fulfil the duties of students;
- revise the regulations on remuneration of teachers.
The adoption of the new law ‘On Vocational Education’ is a key step in the development of the vocational education system in Ukraine. At the same time, it is necessary to continue fruitful work on creating an inclusive educational environment.
Education should be accessible to all – and it is important that legislative changes do not remain on paper but become real tools for creating equal opportunities in society.
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