The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the bill proposing a new approach to financing higher education - in particular, the introduction of a system of study grants - in the second reading and as a whole. UNN reports this, citing a parliamentary session.
Details
A total of 298 members of parliament voted for Bill No. 10399, "On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine Regarding the Financing of Higher Education and the Provision of State Targeted Support to Its Students."
As explained by Serhii Babak, chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Education, Science and Innovation, the document is one of the largest higher education financing reforms in recent years.
According to him, the state is gradually moving from financing educational institutions exclusively to the principle that "money follows the student" - grants are becoming a full-fledged mechanism for paying for education alongside state-funded places.
The grants will be different: academic grants - based on the results of the NMT (ZNO); social grants - for vulnerable categories; special grants - for achievements in sports and the arts; as well as separate Heroes' Grants - for veterans, persons with war-related disabilities, and participants in the Revolution of Dignity.
The state legally guarantees that expenditures on training specialists cannot be lower than the previous year's level, taking inflation into account, and that at least 51% of graduates of general secondary education institutions will be able to study using state funds - through the budget or a grant.
The priority for state-commissioned places is fields critical to the state's security and economy and to our future reconstruction. Citizens who have already obtained higher education using state budget funds or a state grant will, under the conditions specified by law, be able to receive state support again to obtain the same level of education
The transitional provisions of the bill state that it will enter into force on January 1, 2027; however, the academic grant mechanism will become operational one month after its publication.
Reminder
The Ministry of Education and Science approved new approaches to assessing students in grades 5–9, simplifying the recording of results in the class register. Now, one subject grade is given for the semester without the mandatory specification of groups of results.