More than a million school-age children have fled Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Of these, only about 380,000 continue their education in the Ukrainian education system, while the rest are integrated into the educational systems of countries of temporary residence. The largest number of Ukrainian students are now in Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Lithuania. Alla Dubrovyk-Rokhova, Advisor to the Minister of Education and Science on Access to Education for Ukrainians Abroad, told Ukrainian Radio.
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She noted that European countries are actively competing for Ukrainian citizens, offering them housing, jobs and quality education. This creates serious demographic challenges for Ukraine. For example, in Germany, children are required to be integrated into the local education system, which ultimately shapes them into future citizens of the country. In Poland, however, children can remain in distance Ukrainian education, and at the same time, more than 60,000 Ukrainian students are not enrolled in education at all.
According to Dubrowyck-Rohova, the Ukrainian state has not offered young people any real options. Educational initiatives are not adapted to the needs of those outside the country, and the policy on admission to universities restricts the rights of young men. In particular, young men abroad cannot enter Ukrainian universities without military registration documents, which cannot be obtained remotely after the age of 17. In 2025, the first young men who were 14 at the start of the invasion will have reached this age, but will not be able to legally register without coming to Ukraine.
In addition, in the 2024/2025 academic year, Ukraine will introduce mandatory basic military training in the second year of university, which cannot be completed remotely. This makes access to education in Ukraine even more difficult for those abroad and reinforces the trend of young people leaving. According to the minister’s adviser, the state should communicate with young people not through coercion and restrictions, but by creating conditions that allow them to consciously choose their future in Ukraine.
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