education system in ukraine essay

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Education System Profiles

Education in ukraine.

Olesya Friedman and Stefan Trines, Research Editor, WENR

The City of Lviv, Ukraine

Ukraine is a post-Soviet Eastern European country of 42 million people bordering Belarus, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Moldova, and Russia. Ukraine remains deeply torn by the ongoing conflict between its government and pro-Russian separatists in its eastern regions. Ever since the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the declaration of Ukraine’s independence in August 1991, Ukraine has struggled amid high levels of corruption and political instability to maintain social cohesion and establish better public institutions. Conflicts over the future direction of the country spilled over into the Ukrainian revolutions of 2004 (the Orange Revolution) and 2013–2014 (the Revolution of Dignity, also known as the Euromaidan Revolution). Popular dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs was also on display in the recent 2019 presidential elections. Ukrainian voters elected an independent political novice as their president, the comedian Volodymyr Zelensky, by a landslide—a margin that was widely interpreted as a rebuke of the country’s political establishment .

The Ukrainian education system has a long tradition, but its reputation has suffered lately from increased quality problems, many of which are the result of former Soviet rule and the rapid social transformation that took place after the collapse of Communism. As international educator Svetlana Filiatreau described it , “Ukraine’s economic crisis of the 1990’s led to a decline in the financing of education, including research and development…. [It] has had a tremendous negative impact on the educational system of Ukraine leading to the mass immigration of educated people … and the marketization of higher education. These factors, combined with the increasing levels of corruption in Ukrainian society, Soviet-style higher education, and lack of transparency mechanisms in Ukrainian higher education at all levels, have led to skyrocketing corruption in higher education, [and] declining quality ….”.

In response to such problems, Ukrainian authorities have in recent years adopted a series of ambitious reforms to increase transparency, accountability, and integrity, including a new law on higher education in July 2014 that seeks to increase the autonomy of universities . However, the reforms have proven mostly unpopular and have failed to convince many Ukrainians that education policies are heading in the right direction. Merely 20 percent of Ukrainians surveyed in 2019 supported the reforms. Other opinion polls also revealed great dissatisfaction with the quality of education among the Ukrainian populace. 1  This dissatisfaction and the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine have contributed to growing outbound student flows in recent years.

Challenges and Problems in Education

Several serious problems hinder Ukraine’s education sector. They include academic corruption, population loss, the lack of university autonomy, dated facilities, and armed conflict.

Academic Corruption

Even though rampant government corruption was one of the main causes of the Euromaidan Revolution, the level of and tolerance for corruption in Ukraine remains high, according to the anti-corruption watchdog organization Transparency International, which considers corruption a systemic problem in Ukraine, ranking the country 120th out of 180 countries on its 2018 Corruption Perceptions Index . Of the Ukrainians surveyed by Transparency International shortly after the Euromaidan Revolution, about one-third viewed bribery as an acceptable way of resolving problems with government agencies . Likewise, 44 percent of respondents in a 2017 survey by the I. Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation and the Ukrainian Sociology Service believed that corruption had increased since 2014, while only 4 percent believed it had decreased. Forty-four percent of respondents thought corruption was the biggest problem in the country, while an additional 35 percent considered it one of the most serious problems. A sizable share of respondents—39 percent—were doubtful that it was possible to overcome corruption in Ukraine at all. In 2015 the Guardian newspaper called Ukraine “the most corrupt nation in Europe .”

As in several other post-Communist countries, Ukraine’s education system is among the sectors most affected by corruption . Its manifestations range from bribery in admissions to examinations fraud, the misallocation of funds, extortion, ghost teachers, and dissertation plagiarism . While corruption is believed to be most rampant and quickly spreading in tertiary education, particularly in the competitive medical universities, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development recently detailed similarly endemic problems in the Ukrainian school system , from preschool to upper-secondary levels. The effects are a loss of educational quality, the “leakage” of critical resources, and low public trust in the system. Externally, corruption and quality problems affect the international reputation of Ukrainian education. Alarmed by frequent reports of corruption in Ukrainian medical schools, Saudi Arabia, for example, no longer automatically recognizes Ukrainian medical degrees .

Demographic Decline and a Shrinking Education System 

Alongside other Eastern European nations, Ukraine has one of the fastest shrinking populations in the world. Measuring the size of Ukraine’s population is complicated because of the 2014 Russian annexation of the Crimea and the loss of control over the eastern Donbas region’s oblasts of Donetsk and Luhansk, but even before these developments the number of people in the country declined by 6.7 million between 1993 and 2013 . Low birth rates, high mortality rates, large-scale outmigration, and other causes contributed to the decline. The UN projects that Ukraine’s population will decrease by another unprecedented 18 percent until 2050, from 44.2 million in 2017 to merely 36.4 million .

The effect on the education system has been huge. According to UNESCO statistics , the number of tertiary students in the country dropped from about 2.85 million in 2008 to 1.67 million in 2017—a decrease of more than 41 percent that has led to the closure of hundreds of higher education institutions (HEIs). The total number, including universities and other types of HEIs, declined from more than 1,000 in 1996 to 661 in the 2017/18 academic year, per government data . Given the current demographic trends, more closures are likely. In the school system, population decline and outmigration from villages and small cities recently caused the government to create community “ hub schools ” to pool resources and combine pupils from different schools.

Dated Curricula, Lack of University Autonomy, and Other Problems

Ukraine is among the most educated societies in the world with a tertiary gross enrollment ratio (GER) of 83 percent (2014, UNESCO). Yet, many view the country’s academic institutions as inflexible and out of touch with labor market demands and societal needs. In this view, Ukrainian society has an unhealthy obsession with theoretical university education at the expense of more employment-geared education and training. Youth unemployment is high ( 19.6 percent among 15- to 24-year-olds in 2018) and far above unemployment rates of the general working-age population .

Other problems stem from the legacy of the highly centralized, rigid system of the former Soviet Union. For example, Ukrainian universities generally lack autonomy and initiative. While there have been heightened attempts to increase flexibility, widen autonomy, internationalize education, and make curricula more employment-relevant in recent years, the implementation of the 2014 higher education law, which is designed to increase university autonomy, has thus far been sluggish. Prominent critics like Sergiy Kvit, Ukraine’s former education minister and current director of its National Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education, have lamented that the reforms have failed to produce adequate changes , most notably in terms of financial autonomy of public universities. State universities remain dependent on the government in a variety of crucial areas, including salaries for university staff, funding of research, and infrastructure development .

External observers have noted that parts of the infrastructure at Ukrainian schools is inadequate and that teacher morale is low. Satu Kahkonen, the World Bank Country Director for Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine, noted in a recent article that “While visiting schools in Ukraine, especially village schools, it is hard to believe that the state spends 6 percent of GDP on education—one of the highest rates of public spending on education in the world. Ukrainian schools often lack adequate facilities, modern equipment or quality textbooks.” One of the problems, according to Kahkonen, is that the number of students has declined much faster than the number of schools and teachers. As a result, Ukraine has very low student-to-teacher ratios but a system that is very expensive to maintain and ultimately unsustainable.

Overall, the international competitiveness of Ukraine’s education system appears to have declined in recent years. While the country ranked 25th in the 2012 ranking of national higher education systems by the Universitas 21 network of research universities, it dropped to position 38 in the same ranking in 2019 .

The Impact of War

The annexation of Crimea and the war in Ukraine’s eastern territories have had a devastating impact on economic and political life in Ukraine, as well as its education system. According to UNICEF, 10,000 people had been killed and 1.5 million displaced by 2017. About 700 educational facilities had been damaged or shuttered, and some 220,000 children were in urgent need of safe schools. There were 143 HEIs located in the annexed or occupied territories (36 in Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, and 107 in rebel-controlled parts of the Donbas region in the east). These territories were also home to 140 research institutions, representing more than 12 percent of all Ukrainian research institutions and accounting for 31 percent of all tertiary enrollments. As of 2015, only 16 universities and 10 research institutions had successfully moved out of the conflict zones. Ukraine has thus lost a significant part of its educational and scientific resources and has yet to fully resolve the problem of migrants, including students, teachers, and administrative staff, from the annexed and occupied territories.

The first university to set up operations in exile was the Donetsk National University, but only a tiny fraction of its 18,000 students are continuing their education on the new campus in central Ukraine . Ukraine’s Ministry of Education does not recognize diplomas issued by universities that remain in the disputed areas, but students often have the option of attending the exiled universities in online distance education mode. In fact, another exiled university, the prestigious Luhansk Taras Shevchenko National University, has become the leading online learning institution in Ukraine .

Outbound Student Mobility 

The war also had an apparent impact on student mobility patterns in Ukraine. While outbound student mobility has grown strongly in the country in general in recent years, it has accelerated even further since the conflict began in 2014. After doubling from 25,432 to 49,966 between 2007 and 2014, the number of degree-seeking Ukrainian students abroad has since spiked by another 54 percent to 77,219 in 2017, as per UNESCO . According to estimates by the Ukrainian think tank CEDOS , the number of outbound students further peaked to 83,000 in the 2017/18 academic year. The outbound mobility ratio, that is, the percentage of students enrolled abroad amongst all Ukrainian students, tripled since 2012 and stood at 4.6 percent in 2017 (UNESCO).

The swelling student outflows primarily go to neighboring countries. The number of Ukrainian degree students in Poland more than quadrupled between 2012 and 2016, from 6,110 to 29,253 students, making Poland the top destination for mobile students from Ukraine. Enrollments in Russia have also surged drastically and more than doubled within just a few years, from 10,702 in 2012 to 22,440 in 2016.

The Czech Republic, Italy, and the United States are the next most popular destination countries for degree-seeking students, according to UNESCO, although the total number of Ukrainian students in these countries is comparatively small—less than 7,000 students combined. Data gathered by CEDOS paint a slightly different picture in that Germany and Canada were the third- and fourth-largest destination countries with 9,638 and 3,245 students, respectively, in the 2016/17 academic year. 2

It is remarkable the extent to which Ukrainian students have shaped and come to dominate the international student population in key destination countries. More than half of all the international students in Poland, for instance, now come from Ukraine. In Bulgaria, Ukrainian students make up more than 30 percent of the international student body, language barriers notwithstanding.

Poland is an attractive destination for Ukrainian students not only because of its geographic proximity. The country affords Ukrainians an opportunity to pursue high-quality education, often at lower costs of study and living than in Ukraine—an important criterion since the majority of Ukrainian international students are self-funded. Poland also faces a shortage of skilled workers and seeks to retain Ukrainian students in the country after they graduate. Furthermore, Poland suffers from a similar demographic decline as Ukraine, which means that many Polish universities are assertively recruiting in Ukraine to compensate for the loss of domestic students. Study programs in Poland are increasingly offered in English , especially at the graduate level. Finally, the chance to earn a European qualification in an EU member state is a considerable lure for Ukrainian students, since it widens potential employment opportunities within the larger EU. It is highly common for Ukrainian international students to not return home after graduation—a trend that worsens Ukraine’s brain drain.

Trends in the U.S. and Canada 

The number of Ukrainian students in the U.S. has grown in recent years but remains small when compared with other sending countries. According to the Institute of International Education’s Open Doors data , 1,928 Ukrainian students studied in the U.S. in 2017/18 compared with 1,490 in 2012/13 (an increase of 29 percent). A plurality of Ukrainian students (49 percent) are enrolled in undergraduate programs, while 33 percent study in graduate programs, 12 percent undertake Optional Practical Training, and 6 percent attend non-degree programs. In Canada, the number of Ukrainian students has been rising sharply amid the country’s surging popularity as an international study destination in recent years. The total number of Ukrainian students in the country, as reported by the Canadian government , spiked by 420 percent over the past decade, from 525 in 2008 to 2,730 in 2018.

Inbound Student Mobility

Despite the fact that Ukraine is a relatively small country without world-renowned universities featured in the top positions of international university rankings, it is an international study destination of considerable importance. According to the Ukrainian State Center for International Education, there were 75,605 students from 154 countries studying in Ukraine in 2018 . That’s an increase of 41 percent over 2011 when there were just 53,664 international students enrolled at Ukrainian HEIs. This increase reflects the growing popularity of Ukraine as a study destination for students from Asia and Africa, particularly among medical students. While the share of student enrollments from most other post-Soviet countries has recently leveled off, the number of students from countries like India or Morocco has surged over the past years, so that India is currently by far the largest sending country with nearly 15,000 students.

Eight out of ten of the most popular universities among international students are medical institutions , reflecting the fact that the inflow of Asian and African students is to a large extent driven by students pursuing medical studies. Medical education in India, for instance, is very expensive and admission into medical schools is highly competitive , so that Indian students are increasingly branching out to less expensive countries like China or Ukraine. Interest in a comparatively high-quality yet low-cost medical education has also made Ukraine a popular destination in English-speaking African countries like Nigeria and Ghana, where Ukraine is currently the third most popular study destination worldwide. Visa requirements and costs of living in Ukraine are often lower for African students than in most Western destinations, although there have been reports of racial violence . Other problems stemming from the mounting influx of international students are an increase in corruption at Ukrainian medical schools and growing incidents of extortion of international students .

In Brief: The Education System of Ukraine

Ukraine’s education system, like that of the other post-Soviet countries, has been shaped by more than 70 years of Soviet rule. However, Ukraine has enacted numerous reforms since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, including the introduction of private education. In 2005, Ukraine signed on to the European Bologna reforms. Whereas the standard university degree under the old Soviet system was a long single-cycle degree, the Bologna two-cycle structure has now been implemented across the board, except in professional disciplines like medicine and veterinary medicine. The European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System, grading scale, and other aspects of the Bologna reforms have been adopted as well.

Administration of the Education System, Language of Instruction, and Academic Calendar

Ukraine has a centralized education system overseen by the Ministry of Education and Science (MOES) in Kyiv. The State Inspectorate of Educational Institutions of Ukraine, under the auspices of the MOES, is responsible for matters like quality assurance, curriculum development, teaching methodology, examinations in the school system , and vocational education; whereas the National Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (NAQAHE) is the designated regulatory authority in tertiary education. Originally established by law in 2014, the NAQAHE is a new organization that did not start to fully operate until 2019 . Meant to revamp quality assurance in higher education, it consists of representatives from the MOES, European organizations, student associations, and academic institutions. It is responsible for the accreditation of universities and academic programs, the approval of dissertation committees, and other matters related to academic quality.

Given the inter-ethnic conflicts in Ukraine and the fact that sizable parts of the Ukrainian population speak Russian or other minority languages like Romanian or Hungarian as their native tongue, language policies in education are a highly controversial, politically charged issue in Ukraine. Recent legislation from 2017 strengthened the status of Ukrainian as the country’s main language by reducing the role of minority languages in secondary education , making Ukrainian the mandatory official language in government, and imposing minimum quotas for the use of the Ukrainian language in TV, film, and print publications. While the law guarantees the right of all Ukrainian citizens to choose their language of instruction in preschool and elementary education—as long as they also study enough Ukrainian to successfully integrate into Ukrainian society—it mandates that education from the fifth grade onward be taught exclusively in Ukrainian, except for designated “special lessons.”

The law was heavily criticized by Russia, other countries, and human rights groups, but passed in the Ukrainian parliament with 278 to 38 votes . In higher education, Ukrainian is the most common language of instruction. However, Russian was the academic language during the Soviet era, and Russian-taught programs also exist. English-medium higher education is becoming increasingly popular, particularly in programs geared toward international students, but it is still nascent compared with how common it is in other European countries.

Ukraine’s academic calendar usually runs from September to June.

Elementary Education

Since 2018, Ukrainian school education has been extended from 11 to 12 years. It now includes four years of elementary education, five years of middle school education, and three years of upper secondary (specialized) education. The changes will be implemented in the three levels in 2018, 2022 , and 2027, respectively , beginning with the elementary stage. Education is provided free of charge at public schools, and is compulsory through grade 12 under the new system. However, pupils who started studying under the old system can still leave school after 11 years .

Elementary education starts at the age of six and is four years in length. The cycle is further subdivided into two phases: A basic phase 1 (grades one and two) that focuses on adaptation to school through play, while phase 2 (grades three and four) focuses on developing responsibility and independence. Children are admitted to school based on their place of residence. Each school serves a specific geographic area and guarantees seats for all school-age children residing in the area. There are no separate entrance examinations.

The curriculum includes reading, writing, mathematics, physical education, nature, art, and music. Not all courses at this level are graded , but grade four concludes with a state examination that measures performance in Ukrainian (or another native language), reading, and mathematics .

Basic Secondary Education (Middle School)

Basic secondary education lasts five years (grades five to nine) and is open to all pupils who successfully completed elementary education. The general core curriculum includes subjects like Ukrainian language and literature, foreign language, history, mathematics, biology, chemistry, physics, physical education, music, and art. Assessment and promotion are primarily based on examinations. At the end of ninth grade, students sit for final state exams. Those who pass are awarded a “certificate of completion of basic secondary education” ( svidotstvo pro bazovu zagal’nu serednyu osvitu ). The grading scale used at all levels of schooling is the 12-point scale shown below.

Upper-Secondary Education (Specialized Secondary Education)

All graduates of basic secondary education are eligible to enroll in upper-secondary school. Under the new regulations that will be in place by 2027, upper-secondary education will be three years in length (grades 9 to 12) instead of two years (grades 9 to 11). This will align the Ukrainian system with the 12-year systems found in most of the world.

Both the old and new systems introduce curricular specializations at the upper-secondary level. However, the new system will be designed to allow students greater flexibility in choosing their electives. Students will be able to choose between academic and professional tracks studied at either academic or professional lyceums . Within these tracks, students study a general academic core curriculum in addition to specializing in academic or vocational fields. While studies in the academic track are designed to prepare students for further university education, the professional streams prepare students for employment as well as admission to higher education. It should be noted, however, that not all schools offer specialization tracks. and that many students presently attend general secondary programs.

As of 2019, all graduates who pass the final state examinations receive a “certificate of completed general secondary education” ( svidotstvo pro zdobuttia povnoi zagalnoi serednoi osvity ), a credential formerly also called the “certificate of completed secondary education” ( atestat pro zagal’nu serednyu osvitu ). The certificate lists a large number of subjects that span the entire curriculum, as well as three state examination subjects (Ukrainian language and literature, mathematics or history of Ukraine, and one subject of choice). In addition, students are required to sit for standardized tests that are externally assessed by the Ukrainian Center for Educational Quality Assessment . These standardized tests are used for university admissions (see below).

More than 99 percent of upper-secondary school students are enrolled in public schools, per UNESCO. Private education does not play a significant role in the Ukrainian school system. In 2013 the completion rate exceeded 95 percent, and more than 80 percent of graduates enrolled in higher education programs. There were 591,448 upper-secondary students in Ukraine in 2017 (sharply down from 909,924 in 2012, according to UNESCO ).

Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET)

TVET programs are offered at both the secondary and post-secondary level in Ukraine. Their basic structure was inherited from the Soviet Union. The sector has declined rapidly in recent years because of population loss, low regard for TVET, rural-urban migration, and the dilapidated infrastructure and equipment of many technical and vocational colleges. The number of TVET students decreased from about 389,000 in 2013 to 285,000 in 2016/17, resulting in the closure of many TVET colleges, the number of which dropped from 983 in 2013 to 792 in 2016/17 .

There are three levels of TVET qualifications in Ukraine. Level 1 qualifications are earned after short-term training programs of up to one-year’s duration that are designed to quickly impart specific practical skills. These programs don’t have formal academic admission requirements; they are open to anyone within the appropriate age range. The programs conclude with a vocational competence examination and the awarding of the title, Qualified Worker ( dyplom kvalifikovanogo robitnyka ). TVET programs at all levels are regulated and approved by the MOES, but curricula are usually designed by training providers in collaboration with industry . Training may be provided by schools and colleges associated with central or local government institutions, private businesses, or industry associations. Programs may be offered in a variety of forms, including part-time, distance education, or apprenticeship-type on-the-job training.

Level 2 TVET programs require at least the Certificate of Completion of Basic Secondary Education for admission. Program length varies from one and a half to three years based on the prior education of students and the type of program. Programs entered after grade nine are typically three years in length, including a general education component, but holders of the Certificate of Completed General Secondary Education can study in shorter, accelerated programs without the general education component. Like level 1 graduates, level 2 graduates are granted the title of Qualified Worker. However, the level 2 qualification not only entitles holders to employment in their field of specialization, it provides access to tertiary education as well.

Level 3 programs are post-secondary, higher level TVET courses of study usually offered by colleges and vocational schools ( koledzh , uchylyshche ) or universities, and lead to the awarding of a Diploma of Junior Specialist ( dyplom molodshoho spetsialista ), or more recently, the “Junior Bachelor” ( molodshyi bakalavr ). The Certificate of Completed General Secondary Education is generally required for admission. Fields like nursing, allied health, agriculture, teaching, or engineering technology, to name some examples, are offered. The programs typically last two, sometimes three or four years. Some can be entered on the basis of the Certificate of Completion of Basic Secondary Education. These programs include a general secondary education component and last three and a half years at minimum. Depending on the institution and course of study, Junior Specialist graduates may be exempted from one to two years of study in bachelor’s degree programs.

Current reform initiatives to revive the TVET sector and supply the Ukrainian economy with critically needed skilled workers include the introduction of a work-based dual training system similar to Germany’s or Switzerland’s. Model programs that consist of 30 percent theoretical instruction and 70 percent practical training have recently been introduced and are expected to become increasingly common in the years ahead.

The Situation in Crimea

Five years after the annexation of Crimea, Ukrainian schools have been purged from the region, according to Ukrainian human rights groups . Education there is now de facto overseen by the Russian Ministry of Education and Science through the Russian-controlled Crimean education ministry. The language of instruction in schools is Russian; Crimean high school graduates can sit for the Russian Unified State Examination and seek admission to Russian HEIs in the same way as Russian students. The Russian occupying authorities also closed existing HEIs and created a new university under Russian control, the Crimean Federal University. Taurida National University, an institution with a student body of 76,000 before the annexation, reopened in exile in Kyiv. As of 2018 it had 5,000 students , many of whom had fled the occupied areas. 

The Ukrainian government does not recognize Russian high school credentials awarded to students in Crimea, nor academic credentials awarded by HEIs that operate in the occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Students in these regions need to sit for the Certificate of Complete General Secondary Education exams in government-approved schools on Ukrainian-controlled territory if they want to attend Ukrainian universities . The WES Gateway Program in Canada assists displaced persons educated in Ukraine (and other countries affected by crisis) with the validation and assessment of their academic credentials. 

Academic Institutions, Accreditation, and Quality Assurance

All academic institutions in Ukraine must have a license by the government in order to operate. In addition, institutions must be accredited by the State Accreditation Commission of the MOES to award state-recognized degrees and diplomas. There are presently four different levels of accreditation (as outlined below). It should be noted, however, that the entire quality assurance and accreditation system is currently undergoing major reforms. In the near future, accreditation will be granted by the new NAQAHE. The four different levels of accreditation will no longer be used. Instead, HEIs will be classified into four different categories , depending on the programs they offer and their level of specialization: universities, institutes, specialized academies, and colleges (which offer only undergraduate programs).

Under the current system, new HEIs must first submit their study programs for assessment by the State Accreditation Commission. Accreditation decisions are based on the evaluation of institutional self-assessments and criteria like adequate curricula, infrastructure, finances, staffing, research activities, and program structures . Program accreditation is granted for 10 years. HEIs can apply for institutional accreditation once 75 percent of their programs are accredited. Institutional accreditation is then granted for periods of five years. A register of Ukrainian HEIs and their levels of accreditation can be found on the website of the Ukrainian ENIC.

Under the current classification system, Ukrainian HEIs are categorized as follows:

Universities are multidisciplinary research institutions, public or private. They are further subdivided into “classical universities” and “specialized universities.” Classical universities offer graduate programs “in at least eight areas of study, as well as doctors of philosophy and doctors of science in at least 12 research fields .” As their name implies, specialized universities have a slightly narrower academic focus. They offer graduate programs “in at least four areas of study,” as well as PhD programs “in at least eight research fields .”

Institutes and academies are specialized HEIs accredited at level III or IV that offer graduate and doctoral programs in specific disciplines. They can be part of universities. Conservatories , likewise, are specialized HEIs with level III or level IV accreditation that offer advanced programs in artistic fields.

Colleges and technical schools are either stand-alone institutions accredited at level II, or part of larger HEIs accredited at level III or IV. They offer mostly applied first-cycle programs (Junior Bachelor/Specialist or Bachelor).

Most academic institutions in Ukraine are public. As of the 2014/15 academic year, there were 520 public and 144 private HEIs, with the latter enrolling only 9.2 percent of all students ; 387 HEIs were accredited at levels I and II, whereas 277 held level III or IV accreditation. A majority of students (85 percent) were enrolled at the larger, multi-faculty level III or IV accredited institutions.

Ukrainian universities are not very well represented in international rankings. There are only four Ukrainian universities in the 2019 Times Higher Education World University Rankings , all of them ranked at position 1001+1: Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Lviv Polytechnic National University, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, and the V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University. The 2019 QS World University Rankings features six Ukrainian universities—V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University is the highest ranked in 491st place. The 2018 Academic Ranking of World Universities (also known as the Shanghai Ranking) did not include any Ukrainian universities.

Current Reforms in Higher Education

There have been several important reforms in Ukrainian higher education in recent years, some of them driven by prolonged student protests against proposed fiscal changes, such as the removal of tuition caps at public HEIs and the reduction of government-funded university seats. In September 2017, the Ukrainian parliament passed the latest revision of the law on higher education, which increased student participation in university governance, tied financial aid to cost of living increases, improved financial transparency at HEIs, imposed term limits for university presidents and deans, and promoted greater academic autonomy . The revisions reduced both teacher workload and credit requirements for students; and reinforced academic integrity by introducing stiffer penalties for plagiarism and requiring HEIs to publish scientific papers online. They also restructured public university funding in a way that incentivizes universities to compete for the best students .

Another feature of the new legislation was the official adoption of the Bologna reforms in Ukraine. The law finalized the transition to the ECTS credit system and ended the old Soviet-style Diploma of Specialist and Diploma of Junior Specialist programs. As in all Bologna-compliant countries, 60 ECTS credit units are defined as one year of full-time study. Degree certificates are accompanied by the European diploma supplement, and current academic transcripts commonly express student performance in ECTS letter grades, although transcripts often also include a 0-100 numerical scale (and sometimes the old 1 to 5 numerical scale).

The Higher Education Degree Structure 

Ukraine’s 2014 law on higher education sets forth the degree structure outlined below. The last year that students could be admitted into Junior Specialist and Specialist programs was 2016, so this structure will soon be universal throughout Ukraine. One of the main changes is that the old Specialist programs, which were a legacy of the Soviet system and usually lasted five or five and a half years, have been split into two cycles. Instead of long single-tier programs, studies are now organized in an Anglo-Saxon style Bachelor and Master structure.

Junior Bachelor ( Molodshyi Bakalavr )

The Junior Bachelor is a first-cycle, short-term program requiring 90 to 120 ECTS credits. While it is meant to replace the Junior Specialist, the Junior Bachelor is different in that the Certificate of Completed General Secondary Education or a completed Junior Specialist Diploma is the mandatory minimum admission requirement according to legislation , whereas some Junior Specialist programs could be entered after nine years of school.

Bachelor ( Bakalavr )

Bachelor programs take three or four years (180–240 ECTS) to complete after upper-secondary school, with four years being more common. Holders of the Junior Bachelor or the Diploma of Junior Specialist may be exempt from part of the study requirements, depending on the institution and program. Programs generally require few general education courses; they commonly conclude with a final state examination and, in some cases, a thesis or graduation project.

Master ( Magistr )  

Admission into master’s programs requires a Bachelor or Diploma of Specialist at minimum, but individual HEIs may also demand entrance examinations or interviews. Programs are up to two years in length (90 to 120 ECTS) and conclude with the defense of a master’s thesis and state examinations.

Doctor of Philosophy/Art and Doctor of Science

There are two types of doctoral-level qualifications in Ukraine that build upon each other and are placed at levels 9 and 10 of the Ukrainian qualifications framework, respectively. Until recently, these credentials were called Candidate of Sciences ( Kandydat Nauk ) and Doctor of Sciences ( Doktor Nauk ). Today, the Candidate of Sciences is called the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) or Doctor of Art. Admission into this program, which lasts three years at minimum, requires a master’s degree or a Diploma of Specialist. It includes a mandatory course work component of 30 to 60 ECTS credits, research, and the defense of a dissertation. The Doctor of Sciences is a pure research qualification that requires additional research and the defense of another dissertation. This prestigious credential is the highest qualification in Ukraine and a requirement for full professorship at Ukrainian universities. Only a limited number of Candidates of Science complete it.

Professional Degrees in Medical Fields

As in other European countries, professional degrees in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, and veterinary medicine have been excluded from the Bologna reforms in Ukraine and continue to be offered as long, single-tier programs. Medical programs are six years in length (360 ECTS), whereas dentistry, pharmacy, and veterinary medicine are typically five years (300 ECTS) . These qualifications are pegged at the same level as the master’s degree in the Ukrainian qualifications framework.

Medical programs lead to the award of the Doctor of Medicine (also referred to as Specialist until recently). After completion of the six-year general program, graduates must complete a mandatory clinical internship one to three years long in a medical specialty before they can practice. Physicians who have practiced for at least three years after completing the internship can then undertake further clinical residency training in their specialty or train in additional specialties . The clinical residency program lasts two to four years (120 to 240 ECTS). Study programs in dentistry are structured similarly.

Teacher Education 

The degree requirements for teachers in Ukraine depend on the level of education. Preschool and elementary school teachers can teach with a Junior Bachelor from a pedagogical college. Secondary school teachers, on the other hand, must have a Bachelor from a university or university-level institution (institutes, academies). Bachelor programs for teachers are typically four years in length (three years for holders of a diploma of Junior Specialist); curricula include a teaching practicum. As of 2016, there were 40 pedagogical colleges and 66 university-level HEIs offering teacher training programs in Ukraine .

WES Documentation Requirements

Editor’s note: Individuals seeking an evaluation report that requires verified documents from Ukrainian institutions may not be able to obtain them through traditional means. Those who are affected may be eligible for the WES Gateway Program in the United States or Canada . The program enables assessment of the educational credentials of individuals who have been displaced as a result of adverse circumstances in their country and have limited proof of their academic achievements. Visit our Important WES Notices page to learn more.

Secondary Education

• Certificate of Secondary Education (for example , svidotstvo pro zdobuttia povnoi zagalnoi serednoi osvity )—verified with an apostille through the Information and Image Center (ENIC Ukraine) under the Ministry of Education and Science
• Precise word-for-word English translation

Higher Education

• Degree Certificate and Academic Transcript—verified with an apostille through the Information and Image Center (ENIC Ukraine) under the Ministry of Education and Science
• Precise word-for-word English translations of all documents not issued in English

Click here for a PDF file of the academic documents referred to below.

• Certificate of Completed General Secondary Education
• Diploma of Junior Specialist
• Diploma of Specialist (Medicine)
• Candidate of Science
• Doctor of Science

1.  Zhilyaev I.B., Kovtunets V.V., and Siomkin M.V. Higher Education in Ukraine: Its Current State and Problems, 2015, retrieved from http://education-ua.org/ua/analytics/467-vishcha-osvita-ukrajini-stan-ta-problemi#files

2. When comparing international student numbers, it is important to note that numbers provided by different agencies and governments vary because of differences in data capture methodology, definitions of “international student,” and types of mobility captured (credit, degree, and so on). The data of UNESCO Institute Statistics provide a good point of reference for comparison since they are compiled according to one standard method. It should be pointed out, however, that the data include only students enrolled in tertiary degree programs. They do not include students on shorter study abroad exchanges, or those enrolled at the secondary level or in short-term language training programs, for instance.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of World Education Services (WES).

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Education in the united states of america, education in the philippines, education in india, education in south korea.

Ukrainian Education in the New Era

What's Been Done?

• The Learning Program (Curriculum) for 1st-9th grade school students was updated;
• A new state standard of elementary school was introduced as an experiment in 100 schools;
• The new Law of Ukraine On Education was approved;
• An action plan for the implementation of a new Ukrainian school was developed;
• The state standard of competency-based elementary education was developed and approved;
• Elementary school teachers obtain higher qualifications;
• The project on the introduction of electronic textbooks was started;
• State standards of vocational education were updated;
• The introduction of elements of the dual system of vocational education was started.

The Basic Law

The new Law of Ukraine On Education was adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on 5 September 2017.

"This is the basic law, whose adoption unblocks opportunities for further reform of the education system and adoption of the Laws of Ukraine On General Secondary Education, On Vocational Training, and On Adult Education. Besides, members of parliament will be required to consider changes to the Law On Higher Education," Liliia Hrynevych, Ukraine's Minister of Education and Science, said in her comments.

The Law introduces a three-tier system of secondary education: elementary education (4 years), basic education (5 years), and 'branch' education (3 years). All in all, the educational process at schools will last 12 years.

A three-year senior school will be a lyceum of academic or vocational training. In vocational school, a student will master his/ her first profession, whereas in an academic lyceum he/she will deepen personal knowledge of specific subjects that will be studied further at a higher education establishment. Graduates of academic lyceums will be able to obtain a Bachelor's degree in three years (in most specialties) instead of four.

"High school is undergoing the greatest change, as the main aim of establishing 12-year education is to reduce the workload per student and give him/her a chance to choose subjects and introduce a branch (specialist) high school," says Pavlo Khobzei, the Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine.

The Reform Spreads across the Country

On 21 February 2018, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved a new state standard of elementary education, that will be implemented in all first grades from next year.

"This document contains key elements – requirements towards compulsory learning outcomes and competencies of those who acquire education – that define the sense of education in the elementary school. Precisely what a child should know and what he or she should be good at after completing the first four years of study is stated here," says Liliia Hrynevych.

The Minister of Education and Science has pinpointed that the new standard of elementary education involves raising children's respect towards intellectual property (which is about academic integrity).

"Now we complain about problems with academic integrity in higher education. However, if we do not establish the basis in school for respecting intellectual property rights, it will not be possible to solve this problem in higher education. This standard has the overall result of learning that sounds like 'to follow the norms of legal interaction.' As such, after the second grade, a child is expected to determine the authorship of his/ her own works and demonstrate respect towards the works of others. After the fourth grade, respectively, a child is expected to observe the elementary rules of use of one's own works and the works of others," says Liliia Hrynevych.

For the first time, reform has been supported by a significant financial resource from the very beginning – almost UAH 2 bln: UAH 998.7 mln for providing elementary school students with educational materials and mobile furniture, UAH 163.8 mln – for the purchase of technical equipment for elementary schools, UAH 386.5 mln – for improving the level of teachers qualifications, UAH 48.3 mln – for study materials in elementary school teaching and methodology, and UAH 272.3 mln – on textbooks for first-year schoolchildren.

Changes will also include improving the social status of teachers. Last year, the Government raised teachers' salaries by 50%. This year, salaries have been increased by 25%.

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Creating new image of donbas: stories of cultural activists, related articles, zelenskyy replaces ukraine's chief commander - what does it mean - weekly, 5-11 february, why ukrainian universities need support - with aaron wendland | ep. 207.

These languages are provided via eTranslation, the European Commission's machine translation service.

• slovenščina
• Azerbaijani

Background on the Ukrainian education system since 2016

School education now spans 12 years, instead of the previous 11 years. Children start school at the age of six and – for the last three years of their schooling – can choose between an academic orientation or a professional orientation.

In an effort to decentralise education, Ukraine’s Ministry of Education and Science has also granted schools more autonomy . Under the new law, schools have the freedom to create their own curriculum and education plan.

School leadership consists of the school head , who holds his or her position for a maximum of five years, as well as the Pedagogic Council , which makes final decisions on such matters as the school’s organisational structure and the adoption of curricula. There is also community supervision and collaboration in the form of the Parents’ Council and the School’s Supervisory Board.

Ukraine’s current educational standards are based on the European Union’s key competences for lifelong learning .

Roman Shyyan speaks about these changes from his own perspective in this European Training Foundation video:

A general description of Ukraine’s education and training system can be found at these official Ukrainian sites:

• the National Information Centre for Academic Mobility
• the Ministry of Education and Science , including a description of the Ukrainian education system in English and the curricula of grades 1-4 , grades 5-9 and grades 10-11 .

Country information on education, training and employment in Ukraine is also provided by the European Training Foundation , including further structured information on all levels of education and on the key-competence-driven reforms in Ukraine .

Read more about how schooling continues after the Russian invasion of Ukraine . For current updates and resources, please see our article Education and support for Ukrainian refugees .

Challenges for Higher Education: The Case of Ukraine

• First Online: 27 September 2018

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In September 2014, a new Higher Education Act, which significantly expanded the autonomy of the university and provided a real opportunity for the unification of Ukrainian and European educational space, was passed in Ukraine. New rules of work should improve the quality of education and make national universities competitive worldwide. At the same time, the educational institutions face numerous problems of transition, which should be solved as soon as possible. The issues that require a coordinated approach for the majority of higher education universities are analyzed within the paper.

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Stavytskyy, A. (2018). Challenges for Higher Education: The Case of Ukraine. In: Valsiner, J., Lutsenko, A., Antoniouk, A. (eds) Sustainable Futures for Higher Education. Cultural Psychology of Education, vol 7. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96035-7_11

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The Impact of COVID-19 on Education – Recommendations and Opportunities for Ukraine

Robin Donnelly, Harry A. Patrinos, James Gresham

School closures due to COVID-19 have brought significant disruptions to education across Europe . Emerging evidence from some of the region’s highest-income countries indicate that the pandemic is giving rise to learning losses and increases in inequality. To reduce and reverse the long-term negative effects, Ukraine and other less-affluent lower-middle-income countries, which are likely to be even harder hit, need to implement learning recovery programs, protect educational budgets, and prepare for future shocks by “building back better.”

At the peak of the pandemic, 45 countries in the Europe and Central Asia region closed their schools , affecting 185 million students . Given the abruptness of the situation, teachers and administrations were unprepared for this transition and were forced to build emergency remote learning systems almost immediately.

One of the limitations of emergency remote learning is the lack of personal interaction between teacher and student . With broadcasts, this is simply not possible. However, several countries showed initiative by using other methods to improve the remote educational experience, including social media, email, telephone, and even the post office.

Ukraine also implemented measures to support remote teaching and learning , starting with broadcasting video lessons via television and using online distance learning platforms. Organizations like EdCamp Ukraine organized online professional development and peer-to-peer learning opportunities for teachers to meet remotely and share experiences with online learning during the COVID-19 crisis. Ukraine also conducted information campaigns, such as “Schools, We Are Ready,” together with UNICEF, to inform teachers, administrators, students, and parents about the guidelines for safe and sustained learning under COVID-19 in the 2020–21 school year.

Unfortunately, despite best efforts to set up a supportive remote learning experience, evidence is emerging to show that school closures have resulted in actual learning loss es . Research analyzing these outcomes is ongoing, but early results from Belgium , the Netherlands , Switzerland,  and the United Kingdom indicate both learning losses and increases in inequality. Alarmingly, these losses are found to be much higher among students whose parents have less education, a finding reinforced by a study showing that children from socioeconomically advantaged families have received more parental support with their studies during the school closure period.

These emerging data, which provide insights into the region’s highest-income countries, can also be used to predict outcomes in middle-income countries. Despite their substantial technological capability, even Europe’s high-income countries have experienced learning losses and increased inequality as a result of the abrupt transition to virtual learning. These outcomes are likely to be even more acute in middle- and lower-income countries like Ukraine, where there is much less technological capability and a larger share of families live below the poverty line.

Outside the classroom, learning losses may translate into even greater long-term challenges. It has long been known that decreases in test scores are associated with future declines in  employment . Conversely, increases in student  achievement  lead to significant increases in future income, as do additional years  of schooling, which are associated with an  8–9 percent  gain in lifetime earnings. In the absence of any intervention, the learning losses arising from the COVID-19 pandemic are likely to have a long-term compounding negative effect on many children’s future well-being. These learning losses could translate into less access to higher education, lower labor market participation, and  lower future earnings .

To mitigate these challenges while also building a more resilient system that can withstand future crises, we make three core recommendations for Ukraine and other countries: implementing learning recovery programs, protecting education budgets, and preparing for future shocks.

1.     Implement learning recovery programs. Most immediately, governments must ensure that students who have fallen behind receive the support that they need to catch up to expected learning targets. The first step must be to carry out just-in-time assessments to identify these students and their support needs. Research  has shown that 12-week programs of  tutoring  can help students make the kind of progress that would be expected from three to five months of normal  schooling . In  Italy , middle school students who received three hours of online tutoring a week via a computer, tablet, or smartphone saw a 4.7 percent boost in their performance in math, English, and Italian.

Ukraine is implementing learning continuity programs, including through the establishment of the All-Ukrainian Online School platform for distance and blended learning for students in grades 5–11. The project, organized by Ukraine’s Ministry of Education and Science (MOES) and Ministry of Digital Transformation, helps teachers and students to remain connected, gain access to educational materials, and continue schooling during the period of enhanced quarantine measures when schools are closed. The platform contains lessons in 18 basic subjects and consists of videos, tests, and a compendium of lessons. Students also have the opportunity to track their learning progress. Even so, studies confirm that limited internet connectivity and access to devices for online learning (especially in rural areas), compounded by inadequate public support for distance learning, poses challenges. In addition to learning continuity programs, Ukraine could consider supporting ”just-in-time” student assessments to measure the extent of learning losses and identify the students who have fallen behind and may need additional targeted support to catch up.  Accelerated learning or tutoring programs could help address the learning gap.  

2.     Protect the education budget . Given the significant financial strain that economies have been under during the pandemic, some countries may face government budget cuts that could jeopardize the gains that have been made in recent years in terms of access to education and improved learning  outcomes . To ensure a resilient recovery, it is essential that the education budget be protected and that the schools that need financing the most are supported. To help the most vulnerable students, governments should prioritize by directing much of the funding and resources to support schools delivering remote instruction, particularly if those schools are serving high-poverty and high-minority populations . To encourage students to remain in school, incentives  such as scholarships may need to be implemented. Yet learning recovery programs will not be feasible without substantial financial support. In the presence of budget cuts, affluent families will be able to continue to fund educational boosts like tutoring; however, lower-income families will not as easily be able to fill this gap. For example, the  United Kingdom  announced a £1 billion pupil catch-up fund that contained a portion set aside for tutoring and the National Tutoring Programme with a £76 million budget. Clearly, significant budget allocations and further actions will be needed to return to previous  levels of learning.

Ukraine has taken steps to protect and shore up education spending in 2021 by increasing transfers to local governments for teaching aids and equipment, providing further support and social protection to teachers and academic staff through salary increases, and implementing a new transfer to local governments for school safety and other measures aimed at combating COVID-19. Looking ahead, Ukraine will want to closely monitor overall funding levels for education to ensure that funds are being used efficiently and that resources are available to support learning recovery interventions, particularly for those students who most need them.   

3.     Prepare for future shocks by building back better.  It is imperative that we not only recover from the pandemic but that we use this experience to become better prepared for future crises. To support this aim, countries need to build their capacity to provide blended models of education in the future. Schools should be better prepared to switch easily between face-to-face and remote learning as needed. This will protect the education of students not only during future pandemics, but also during other shocks that might cause school closures, such as natural disasters or adverse weather events. It will also create opportunities for more individualized approaches to teaching and learning. With this in mind, it will be necessary to develop flexible curricula that can be taught in person or online. Additionally, teachers need to be better equipped to manage a wide range of IT devices in the event of future school closures. Offering short training courses to improve their digital skills will help. Using the post-pandemic period to rebuild education systems and make them resilient is a priority. At the same time, it is important to build a future education system that can make better use of blended learning models to reach all learners at their level and to provide more individualized approaches to teaching.

Although this is a long-term process, Ukraine is already taking steps in this area. The authorities have developed regulations for distance education, and efforts are ongoing to continue to expand the number of schools with internet connectivity and access to digital devices and equipment to allow for greater use of blended learning approaches in schools going forward. Even so, “building back better” requires bold action and a vision for the kind of human capital Ukraine will need to grow and thrive in the future. It is critical to continue the larger education reform process that was started initially in 2014, including both the New Ukrainian School (NUS) initiative in school education and the reform of higher education in line with the standards of the European Higher Education Area. Ukraine’s MOES is preparing a project with the World Bank to support learning continuity and operational resilience in higher education through initiatives to expand digitalization in the education sector. These efforts will help higher education institutions to recover from the impacts of COVID-19 while also adapting to more resilient and flexible approaches going forward.

Interview originally published by Dzerkalo Tyzhnia in the Mirror Weekly

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Pencil Cases and Air-Raid Sirens: School at War for Ukraine’s Children

The country’s teachers are doing their best to provide lessons for the millions of school-age children whose education has been interrupted.

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By Megan Specia and Maria Varenikova

KRAKOW, Poland — Across Ukraine, kindergartens have been bombed, elementary schools have been converted into shelters and in some cities like Mariupol, their grounds have even become makeshift graveyards.

As the war tears at the social institutions of the country, education has been one of the major casualties. Parents, teachers and school administrators are scrambling to provide classes for the 5.5 million school-age children who remain in the country, as well as for thousands of others who have fled to other countries.

In many places, students are connecting with their normal classrooms online, if their hometown schools are still operating and they have access to the internet. But with such vast displacement of teachers and students, the paths to learning are circuitous: In some cases, teachers who relocated within Ukraine are instructing students who have already fled the country, through a school system that they both left behind.

“The study is just like during the Covid times but with constant interruptions for the air sirens,” said Inna Pasichnyk, 29, who fled with her 11-year-old son, Volodymyr, to the Czech Republic from their home in the Donetsk region. He still dials into his classroom every day.

Alla Porkhovnyuk now teaches classes remotely to 11- to 13-year-olds after fleeing with her children from the port town of Yuzhne, near Odesa, to stay with relatives in central Ukraine. As well as teaching history, much of her job involves providing reassurance to the children amid fears about the war.

“They often ask when will the war end, when will they return to school?” she said. “I always smile and say that it will be soon — we have to be patient a little longer.”

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Home » Ukrainian Culture » Schools, Universities and Educational Institutions

Schools, Universities and Educational Institutions

Education in Ukraine is given great attention by the government and a large number of facilities and institutions exist for the purpose of educating the population. The system of education in Ukraine extends right from pre-school to higher education.

Ukraine’s educational legislation places great importance on pre-school eduction. This early form of education is to be cared for by the family or through a pre-school institution. A variety of institutions are available for this level of education in Ukraine and include day care centers, kindergartens and special facilities for disabled children. Provision is also made for orphans.

Elementary school education in Ukraine forms the foundation of a child’s schooling career. Ukraine’s Law on Education states that provision of elementary schools must be made wherever there are students. Elementary or primary education acts to develop children’s personalities, talents, formation of morals, working education as well as knowledge of the human body, nature, industry and society. This level of education is compulsory in Ukraine and is available at various types of institutions. Students begin secondary comprehensive schooling at the age of 6 or 7 years.

Basic school also falls under the secondary education system in Ukraine. This is the students’ last level of formal basic education. This level of education provides the link to continuous education systems. It is compulsory to attend basic school for five years. Formal basic education is completed between the ages of 14 and 16 years. On completion of basic schooling the student will receive a certificate allowing them to continue on to upper secondary school as well as certain higher education institutions.

Ukraine has a very well-developed higher education system. Higher education is provided by higher education establishments, private bodies and scientific and methodological facilities of the government. This system also encompasses post-graduate programs and Ph.D’s as well as self-education. The levels of accreditation depend on the Higher Education Institutes’ status. Level one includes vocational schools and the like who train junior specialists. Level two are colleges and similar organizations who teach bachelors. Level three is made up of universities, institutes, academies and conservatories which provide education for bachelors and specialists. Level four includes universities, conservatories, institutes and academies which educate bachelors, specialists and masters.

It is evident that the system of education in Ukraine has been well-developed and opportunities exist for the entire population, even those living in the rural areas.

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Russia's efforts to erase Ukrainian identity and culture will fail: UK statement to the OSCE

Ambassador Holland marks Ukraine's Independence Day and condemns Russia's efforts to eradicate Ukrainian identity through its illegal war of aggression.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Last Saturday we marked two milestones: 30 months since Russia launched its illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine and 33 years since the Ukrainian people chose independence. The contrast between these two events could not be greater.

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Madam Chair, Ukraine’s culture is important in its own right but also significant for what it represents. Now more so than ever, it stands as a symbol of resilience and resistance. Ukrainian national identity burns brightly despite Russia’s efforts to steal artefacts, re-educate children and eliminate national traditions. And Ukraine’s identity – forged in the face of adversity and hardship – will endure. For this reason, I look forward to 2025, when we will again celebrate Ukraine’s independence, resilience and national identity, and I hope we can do so without needing to remark on another milestone in this senseless and illegal war.

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• Education , Five Pillars , Institutions , Intellectual Life , Liberal Arts , Roundups

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• “ How to Find Joy in College and Life ,” Nathaniel Peters
• “ How Can Education Unite Us Rather Than Fragment Us? ” Margarita Mooney Clayton
• “ Education and the Restoration of Moral Agency ,” R. J. Snell

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Fact-checking warnings from Democrats about Project 2025 and Donald Trump

This fact check originally appeared on PolitiFact .

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WATCH: Hauling large copy of Project 2025, Michigan state Sen. McMorrow speaks at 2024 DNC

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Much of the plan calls for extensive executive-branch overhauls and draws on both long-standing conservative principles, such as tax cuts, and more recent culture war issues. It lays out recommendations for disbanding the Commerce and Education departments, eliminating certain climate protections and consolidating more power to the president.

Project 2025 offers a sweeping vision for a Republican-led executive branch, and some of its policies mirror Trump’s 2024 agenda, But Harris and her presidential campaign have at times gone too far in describing what the project calls for and how closely the plans overlap with Trump’s campaign.

PolitiFact researched Harris’ warnings about how the plan would affect reproductive rights, federal entitlement programs and education, just as we did for President Joe Biden’s Project 2025 rhetoric. Here’s what the project does and doesn’t call for, and how it squares with Trump’s positions.

Are Trump and Project 2025 connected?

To distance himself from Project 2025 amid the Democratic attacks, Trump wrote on Truth Social that he “knows nothing” about it and has “no idea” who is in charge of it. (CNN identified at least 140 former advisers from the Trump administration who have been involved.)

The Heritage Foundation sought contributions from more than 100 conservative organizations for its policy vision for the next Republican presidency, which was published in 2023.

Project 2025 is now winding down some of its policy operations, and director Paul Dans, a former Trump administration official, is stepping down, The Washington Post reported July 30. Trump campaign managers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita denounced the document.

WATCH: A look at the Project 2025 plan to reshape government and Trump’s links to its authors

However, Project 2025 contributors include a number of high-ranking officials from Trump’s first administration, including former White House adviser Peter Navarro and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson.

A recently released recording of Russell Vought, a Project 2025 author and the former director of Trump’s Office of Management and Budget, showed Vought saying Trump’s “very supportive of what we do.” He said Trump was only distancing himself because Democrats were making a bogeyman out of the document.

Project 2025 wouldn’t ban abortion outright, but would curtail access

The Harris campaign shared a graphic on X that claimed “Trump’s Project 2025 plan for workers” would “go after birth control and ban abortion nationwide.”

The plan doesn’t call to ban abortion nationwide, though its recommendations could curtail some contraceptives and limit abortion access.

What’s known about Trump’s abortion agenda neither lines up with Harris’ description nor Project 2025’s wish list.

Project 2025 says the Department of Health and Human Services Department should “return to being known as the Department of Life by explicitly rejecting the notion that abortion is health care.”

It recommends that the Food and Drug Administration reverse its 2000 approval of mifepristone, the first pill taken in a two-drug regimen for a medication abortion. Medication is the most common form of abortion in the U.S. — accounting for around 63 percent in 2023.

If mifepristone were to remain approved, Project 2025 recommends new rules, such as cutting its use from 10 weeks into pregnancy to seven. It would have to be provided to patients in person — part of the group’s efforts to limit access to the drug by mail. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a legal challenge to mifepristone’s FDA approval over procedural grounds.

WATCH: Trump’s plans for health care and reproductive rights if he returns to White House The manual also calls for the Justice Department to enforce the 1873 Comstock Act on mifepristone, which bans the mailing of “obscene” materials. Abortion access supporters fear that a strict interpretation of the law could go further to ban mailing the materials used in procedural abortions, such as surgical instruments and equipment.

The plan proposes withholding federal money from states that don’t report to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention how many abortions take place within their borders. The plan also would prohibit abortion providers, such as Planned Parenthood, from receiving Medicaid funds. It also calls for the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that the training of medical professionals, including doctors and nurses, omits abortion training.

The document says some forms of emergency contraception — particularly Ella, a pill that can be taken within five days of unprotected sex to prevent pregnancy — should be excluded from no-cost coverage. The Affordable Care Act requires most private health insurers to cover recommended preventive services, which involves a range of birth control methods, including emergency contraception.

Trump has recently said states should decide abortion regulations and that he wouldn’t block access to contraceptives. Trump said during his June 27 debate with Biden that he wouldn’t ban mifepristone after the Supreme Court “approved” it. But the court rejected the lawsuit based on standing, not the case’s merits. He has not weighed in on the Comstock Act or said whether he supports it being used to block abortion medication, or other kinds of abortions.

Project 2025 doesn’t call for cutting Social Security, but proposes some changes to Medicare

“When you read (Project 2025),” Harris told a crowd July 23 in Wisconsin, “you will see, Donald Trump intends to cut Social Security and Medicare.”

The Project 2025 document does not call for Social Security cuts. None of its 10 references to Social Security addresses plans for cutting the program.

Harris also misleads about Trump’s Social Security views.

In his earlier campaigns and before he was a politician, Trump said about a half-dozen times that he’s open to major overhauls of Social Security, including cuts and privatization. More recently, in a March 2024 CNBC interview, Trump said of entitlement programs such as Social Security, “There’s a lot you can do in terms of entitlements, in terms of cutting.” However, he quickly walked that statement back, and his CNBC comment stands at odds with essentially everything else Trump has said during the 2024 presidential campaign.

Trump’s campaign website says that not “a single penny” should be cut from Social Security. We rated Harris’ claim that Trump intends to cut Social Security Mostly False.

Project 2025 does propose changes to Medicare, including making Medicare Advantage, the private insurance offering in Medicare, the “default” enrollment option. Unlike Original Medicare, Medicare Advantage plans have provider networks and can also require prior authorization, meaning that the plan can approve or deny certain services. Original Medicare plans don’t have prior authorization requirements.

The manual also calls for repealing health policies enacted under Biden, such as the Inflation Reduction Act. The law enabled Medicare to negotiate with drugmakers for the first time in history, and recently resulted in an agreement with drug companies to lower the prices of 10 expensive prescriptions for Medicare enrollees.

Trump, however, has said repeatedly during the 2024 presidential campaign that he will not cut Medicare.

Project 2025 would eliminate the Education Department, which Trump supports

The Harris campaign said Project 2025 would “eliminate the U.S. Department of Education” — and that’s accurate. Project 2025 says federal education policy “should be limited and, ultimately, the federal Department of Education should be eliminated.” The plan scales back the federal government’s role in education policy and devolves the functions that remain to other agencies.

Aside from eliminating the department, the project also proposes scrapping the Biden administration’s Title IX revision, which prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. It also would let states opt out of federal education programs and calls for passing a federal parents’ bill of rights similar to ones passed in some Republican-led state legislatures.

Republicans, including Trump, have pledged to close the department, which gained its status in 1979 within Democratic President Jimmy Carter’s presidential Cabinet.

In one of his Agenda 47 policy videos, Trump promised to close the department and “to send all education work and needs back to the states.” Eliminating the department would have to go through Congress.

What Project 2025, Trump would do on overtime pay

In the graphic, the Harris campaign says Project 2025 allows “employers to stop paying workers for overtime work.”

The plan doesn’t call for banning overtime wages. It recommends changes to some Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, regulations and to overtime rules. Some changes, if enacted, could result in some people losing overtime protections, experts told us.

The document proposes that the Labor Department maintain an overtime threshold “that does not punish businesses in lower-cost regions (e.g., the southeast United States).” This threshold is the amount of money executive, administrative or professional employees need to make for an employer to exempt them from overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

In 2019, the Trump’s administration finalized a rule that expanded overtime pay eligibility to most salaried workers earning less than about $35,568, which it said made about 1.3 million more workers eligible for overtime pay. The Trump-era threshold is high enough to cover most line workers in lower-cost regions, Project 2025 said.

The Biden administration raised that threshold to $43,888 beginning July 1, and that will rise to $58,656 on Jan. 1, 2025. That would grant overtime eligibility to about 4 million workers, the Labor Department said.

It’s unclear how many workers Project 2025’s proposal to return to the Trump-era overtime threshold in some parts of the country would affect, but experts said some would presumably lose the right to overtime wages.

Other overtime proposals in Project 2025’s plan include allowing some workers to choose to accumulate paid time off instead of overtime pay, or to work more hours in one week and fewer in the next, rather than receive overtime.

Trump’s past with overtime pay is complicated. In 2016, the Obama administration said it would raise the overtime to salaried workers earning less than $47,476 a year, about double the exemption level set in 2004 of $23,660 a year.

But when a judge blocked the Obama rule, the Trump administration didn’t challenge the court ruling. Instead it set its own overtime threshold, which raised the amount, but by less than Obama.

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Trump’s plans if he returns to the White House include deportation raids, tariffs and mass firings

President Joe Biden has a lot of unfinished business from his first term that he intends to continue if reelected. It’s a far different vision for the country than Donald Trump has outlined during his own campaign. (Nov. 12)

FILE - Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Republican Party of Florida Freedom Summit, Nov. 4, 2023, in Kissimmee, Fla.Trump is already laying a sweeping set of policy goals should he win a second term as president. Priorities on the Republican’s agenda include a mass deportation operation, a new Muslim ban and tariffs on all imported goods. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)

FILE - President Donald Trump pumps his fist after speaking in the East Room of the White House, early Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020, in Washington. Trump is already laying a sweeping set of policy goals should he win a second term as president. Priorities on the Republican’s agenda include a mass deportation operation, a new Muslim ban and tariffs on all imported goods. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

FILE - Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally, July 29, 2023, in Erie, Pa. Trump is already laying a sweeping set of policy goals should he win a second term as president. Priorities on the Republican’s agenda include a mass deportation operation, a new Muslim ban and tariffs on all imported goods.. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)

FILE - Former President Donald Trump speaks at the New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women Lilac Luncheon, June 27, 2023, in Concord, N.H. Trump is already laying a sweeping set of policy goals should he win a second term as president. Priorities on the Republican’s agenda include a mass deportation operation, a new Muslim ban and tariffs on all imported goods.. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump gestures after speaking Oct. 11, 2023, at Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)

Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Hialeah, Fla., Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

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NEW YORK (AP) — A mass deportation operation. A new Muslim ban. Tariffs on all imported goods and “freedom cities” built on federal land.

Much of the 2024 presidential campaign has been dominated by the myriad investigations into former President Donald Trump and the subsequent charges against him. But with less than a year until Election Day, Trump is dominating the race for the Republican nomination and has already laid out a sweeping set of policy goals should he win a second term.

His ideas, and even the issues he focuses on most, are wildly different from President Joe Biden’s proposals . If implemented, Trump’s plans would represent a dramatic government overhaul arguably more consequential than that of his first term. His presidency, especially the early days, was marked by chaos, infighting and a wave of hastily written executive orders that were quickly overturned by the courts.

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• Nikki Haley, Trump’s major GOP challenger, suspends her campaign after being soundly defeated across the country.
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Some of his current ideas would probably end up in court or impeded by Congress. But Trump’s campaign and allied groups are assembling policy books with detailed plans.

A look at his agenda:

DISMANTLING THE ‘DEEP STATE’

Trump would try to strip tens of thousands of career employees of their civil service protections. That way, they could be fired as he seeks to “totally obliterate the deep state.”

He would try to accomplish that by reissuing a 2020 executive order known as “Schedule F.” That would allow him to reclassify masses of employees, with a particular focus, he has said, on “corrupt bureaucrats who have weaponized our justice system” and “corrupt actors in our national security and intelligence apparatus.” Given his anger at the FBI and federal prosecutors pursuing criminal cases against him, Trump probably would target people linked to those prosecutions for retribution.

Beyond the firings, he wants to crack down on government officials who leak to reporters. He also wants to require that federal employees pass a new civil service test.

THE U.S.-MEXICO BORDER

Trump has pledged to “immediately stop the invasion of our southern border” and end illegal immigration.

As part of that plan, he says he would immediately direct U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to undertake the largest domestic deportation operation in American history. He would target people who are legally living in the United States but harbor “jihadist sympathies” and revoke the student visas of those who espouse anti-American and antisemitic views.

In a bid to secure the U.S.-Mexico border, Trump says he will move thousands of troops currently stationed overseas and shift federal agents, including those at the Drug Enforcement Administration and FBI, to immigration enforcement. He also wants to build more of the border wall.

Trump wants to reimpose his travel ban that originally targeted seven Muslim-majority countries and expand it to “keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the country.” In the wake of the Hamas attack on Israel, he has pledged to put in place “ideological screening” for immigrants. His aim: bar “dangerous lunatics, haters, bigots, and maniacs,” as well as those who “empathize with radical Islamic terrorists and extremists.”

To deter migrants, he has said he would end birthright citizenship, using an an executive order that would introduce a legally untested interpretation of the 14th Amendment. The order would prevent federal agencies from granting automatic citizenship to the children of people who are in the U.S. illegally. It would require that at least one parent be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident for their children to be eligible for passports, Social Security numbers and other benefits.

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Trump says he will institute a system of tariffs of perhaps 10% on most foreign goods. Penalties would increase if trade partners manipulate their currencies or engage in other unfair trading practices.

He will urge that Congress pass a “Trump Reciprocal Trade Act,” giving the president authority to impose a reciprocal tariff on any country that imposes one on the U.S.

Much of the agenda focuses on China. Trump has proposed a four-year plan to phase out Chinese imports of essential goods, including electronics, steel and pharmaceuticals. He wants to ban Chinese companies from owning vital U.S. infrastructure in sectors such as energy, technology and agriculture, and says he will force Chinese owners to sell any holdings “that jeopardize America’s national security.”

FOREIGN POLICY

Trump claims that even before he is inaugurated, he will have settled the war between Russia and Ukraine. That includes, he says, ending the “endless flow of American treasure to Ukraine” and asking European allies to reimburse the U.S. for the cost of rebuilding stockpiles.

It is unclear whether he would insist that Russia withdraw from territory in Ukraine it seized in the war that it launched in February 2022.

Trump has said he will stand with Israel in its war with Hamas and support Israel’s efforts to “destroy” the militant group. He says he will continue to “fundamentally reevaluate” NATO’s purpose and mission.

TRANSGENDER RIGHTS

Trump says he will ask Congress to pass a bill establishing that “only two genders,” as determined at birth, are recognized by the United States.

As part of his crackdown on gender-affirming care, he will declare that hospitals and health care providers that offer transitional hormones or surgery no longer meet federal health and safety standards and will be blocked from receiving federal funds, including Medicaid and Medicare dollars.

He would push Congress to prohibit hormonal or surgical intervention for transgender minors in all 50 states.

Doctors typically guide kids toward therapy before medical intervention. At that point, hormone treatments such as puberty blockers are far more common than surgery. They have been available in the U.S. for more than a decade and are standard treatments backed by major doctors’ organizations, including the American Medical Association.

Trump’s goal, he says, is for the U.S. to have the lowest-cost energy and electricity of any nation in the world, including China.

Under the mantra “DRILL, BABY, DRILL,” he says he would ramp up oil drilling on public lands and offer tax breaks to oil, gas, and coal producers. He would roll back Biden administration efforts to encourage the adoption of electric cars and reverse proposed new pollution limits that would require at least 54% of new vehicles sold in the U.S. to be electric by 2030.

And again, he says, he will exit the Paris Climate Accords, end wind subsidies and eliminate regulations imposed and proposed by the Biden admiration targeting incandescent lightbulbs, gas stoves, dishwashers and shower heads.

Trump has pledged to terminate the Department of Education, but he also wants to exert enormous influence over local school districts and colleges.

He would push the federal government to give funding preference to states and school districts that abolish teacher tenure, adopt merit pay to reward good teachers and allow the direct election of school principals by parents.

He has said he would cut funding for any school that has a vaccine or mask mandate and will promote prayer in public schools.

Trump also wants a say in school curricula, vowing to fight for “patriotic education.” He says that under his administration, schools will “teach students to love their country, not to hate their country like they’re taught right now” and will promote “the nuclear family” including “the roles of mothers and fathers” and the “things that make men and women different and unique.”

To protect students, he says he will support school districts that allow trained teachers to carry concealed weapons. He would provide federal funding so schools can hire veterans, retired police officers, and other trained gun owners as armed school guards.

HOMELESSNESS

Trump wants to force the homeless off city streets by building tent cities on large open parcels of inexpensive land. At the same time, he says he will work with states to ban urban camping, giving violators the choice between being arrested or receiving treatment.

He also wants to bring back large mental institutions to reinstitutionalize those who are “severely mentally ill” or “dangerously deranged.”

PUBLIC SAFETY

Trump would again push to send the National Guard to cities such as Chicago that are struggling with violence. He would use the federal government’s funding and prosecution authorities to strong-arm local governments.

He says he will require local law enforcement agencies that receive Justice Department grants to use controversial policing measures such as stop-and-frisk. As a deterrent, he says local police should be empowered to shoot suspected shoplifters in the act. “Very simply, if you rob a store, you can fully expect to be shot as you are leaving that store,” he said in one recent speech.

Trump has called for the death penalty for drug smugglers and those who traffic women and children. He has also pledged a federal takeover of the nation’s capital, calling Washington a “dirty, crime-ridden death trap” unbefitting of the country.

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Blog The Education Hub

https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2024/04/26/when-are-year-6-sats-2024-key-dates-for-parents-and-pupils/

When are year 6 SATs 2024? Key dates for parents and pupils

Year 6 pupils in England will soon be taking the key stage 2 (KS2) national curriculum tests, which are often referred to as SATs.  

The assessments are used to measure school performance and to make sure individual pupils are being supported in the best way possible as they move into secondary school .   

When are SATs?  

This year, SATs will take place over four days from 13 May to 16 May 2024.

The timetable is as follows:

What are the tests on?   

While pupils won’t be able to see what’s on the test beforehand, t he assessments only include questions on things that children should already have been taught as part of the national curriculum.  

You can find past papers on GOV.UK .  

As usual, there won’t be a test for English writing or science. Instead, this will be reported as a teacher assessment judgement.  

This is a judgement teachers will make based on your child’s work at the end of KS2.   

Does my child need to revise for SATs?  

Children shouldn’t be made to feel any unnecessary pressure when it comes to the KS2 assessments and t eachers will make sure that all pupils in their class are prepared.  

You should follow their general advice about supporting your child’s education throughout the year and ahead of the tests.  

While it is statutory for schools to hold the assessments, headteachers make the final decision about whether a pupil participates in them.   

Some pupils – for example those with special education needs or disabilities – may be assessed under different arrangements if these are more appropriate.   

If you have concerns about your child participating in the KS2 tests, you should speak to your school in the first instance.  

What if my child finds the SATs tests too difficult?  

It’s important to remember that one of the purposes of the key stage 2 assessments is to identify each pupil's strengths and the areas where they may have fallen behind in their learning as they head into secondary school.   

The results will help their new school determine in which areas your child needs the most support.   

The tests are designed to be challenging to measure attainment, including stretching the most able children. It means some pupils will find them harder than others.    

It takes three years to create appropriate tests. During the process, they’re rigorously trialled with year 6 pupils and reviewed by education and inclusion experts to make sure they’re the right difficulty level.   

The Standards and Testing Agency (STA) is responsible for developing the tests, and Ministers don't have any influence on their content.   

When will we find out the results of SATs?  

Schools will receive test results on Tuesday 9 July 2024.  

Before the end of the summer term, your child’s school will send you a report which will include test results and teacher assessment judgements.  

This should provide you with a good sense of the standard at which your child is working in each subject.  

The school will report your child’s test results as a scaled score for each subject. This is created from the number of marks your child scores in a particular test. A scaled score:  

• below 100 means that your child may need more support to help them reach the expected standard;  
• of 100 or more means that your child is working at, or above, the expected standard for the key stage.  

If your child is working below the overall standard of the key stage, or they have special educational needs, reporting will be different, and you should speak to your child’s teacher for more information.  

You can also find more information about  results at the end of key stage 2  on GOV.UK.  

You may also be interested in:

• How we are helping to inspire primary school children about their future careers
• What is the multiplication tables check and why is it important?
• SATs leaflet for parents

Tags: KS2 , primary school , SATs , SATs 2023 , SATs results , Secondary School

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Global Energy Crisis

How the energy crisis started, how global energy markets are impacting our daily life, and what governments are doing about it

• English English

What is the energy crisis?

Record prices, fuel shortages, rising poverty, slowing economies: the first energy crisis that's truly global.

Energy markets began to tighten in 2021 because of a variety of factors, including the extraordinarily rapid economic rebound following the pandemic. But the situation escalated dramatically into a full-blown global energy crisis following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The price of natural gas reached record highs, and as a result so did electricity in some markets. Oil prices hit their highest level since 2008. 

Higher energy prices have contributed to painfully high inflation, pushed families into poverty, forced some factories to curtail output or even shut down, and slowed economic growth to the point that some countries are heading towards severe recession. Europe, whose gas supply is uniquely vulnerable because of its historic reliance on Russia, could face gas rationing this winter, while many emerging economies are seeing sharply higher energy import bills and fuel shortages. While today’s energy crisis shares some parallels with the oil shocks of the 1970s, there are important differences. Today’s crisis involves all fossil fuels, while the 1970s price shocks were largely limited to oil at a time when the global economy was much more dependent on oil, and less dependent on gas. The entire word economy is much more interlinked than it was 50 years ago, magnifying the impact. That’s why we can refer to this as the first truly global energy crisis.

Some gas-intensive manufacturing plants in Europe have curtailed output because they can’t afford to keep operating, while in China some have simply had their power supply cut. In emerging and developing economies, where the share of household budgets spent on energy and food is already large, higher energy bills have increased extreme poverty and set back progress towards achieving universal and affordable energy access. Even in advanced economies, rising prices have impacted vulnerable households and caused significant economic, social and political strains.

Climate policies have been blamed in some quarters for contributing to the recent run-up in energy prices, but there is no evidence. In fact, a greater supply of clean energy sources and technologies would have protected consumers and mitigated some of the upward pressure on fuel prices.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine drove European and Asian gas prices to record highs

Evolution of key regional natural gas prices, june 2021-october 2022, what is causing it, disrupted supply chains, bad weather, low investment, and then came russia's invasion of ukraine.

Energy prices have been rising since 2021 because of the rapid economic recovery, weather conditions in various parts of the world, maintenance work that had been delayed by the pandemic, and earlier decisions by oil and gas companies and exporting countries to reduce investments. Russia began withholding gas supplies to Europe in 2021, months ahead of its invasion of Ukraine. All that led to already tight supplies. Russia’s attack on Ukraine greatly exacerbated the situation . The United States and the EU imposed a series of sanctions on Russia and many European countries declared their intention to phase out Russian gas imports completely. Meanwhile, Russia has increasingly curtailed or even turned off its export pipelines. Russia is by far the world’s largest exporter of fossil fuels, and a particularly important supplier to Europe. In 2021, a quarter of all energy consumed in the EU came from Russia. As Europe sought to replace Russian gas, it bid up prices of US, Australian and Qatari ship-borne liquefied natural gas (LNG), raising prices and diverting supply away from traditional LNG customers in Asia. Because gas frequently sets the price at which electricity is sold, power prices soared as well. Both LNG producers and importers are rushing to build new infrastructure to increase how much LNG can be traded internationally, but these costly projects take years to come online. Oil prices also initially soared as international trade routes were reconfigured after the United States, many European countries and some of their Asian allies said they would no longer buy Russian oil. Some shippers have declined to carry Russian oil because of sanctions and insurance risk. Many large oil producers were unable to boost supply to meet rising demand – even with the incentive of sky-high prices – because of a lack of investment in recent years. While prices have come down from their peaks, the outlook is uncertain with new rounds of European sanctions on Russia kicking in later this year.

What is being done?

Pandemic hangovers and rising interest rates limit public responses, while some countries turn to coal.

Some governments are looking to cushion the blow for customers and businesses, either through direct assistance, or by limiting prices for consumers and then paying energy providers the difference. But with inflation in many countries well above target and budget deficits already large because of emergency spending during the Covid-19 pandemic, the scope for cushioning the impact is more limited than in early 2020. Rising inflation has triggered increases in short-term interest rates in many countries, slowing down economic growth. Europeans have rushed to increase gas imports from alternative producers such as Algeria, Norway and Azerbaijan. Several countries have resumed or expanded the use of coal for power generation, and some are extending the lives of nuclear plants slated for de-commissioning. EU members have also introduced gas storage obligations, and agreed on voluntary targets to cut gas and electricity demand by 15% this winter through efficiency measures, greater use of renewables, and support for efficiency improvements. To ensure adequate oil supplies, the IEA and its members responded with the two largest ever releases of emergency oil stocks. With two decisions – on 1 March 2022 and 1 April – the IEA coordinated the release of some 182 million barrels of emergency oil from public stocks or obligated stocks held by industry. Some IEA member countries independently released additional public stocks, resulting in a total of over 240 million barrels being released between March and November 2022.

The IEA has also published action plans to cut oil use with immediate impact, as well as plans for how Europe can reduce its reliance on Russian gas and how common citizens can reduce their energy consumption . The invasion has sparked a reappraisal of energy policies and priorities, calling into question the viability of decades of infrastructure and investment decisions, and profoundly reorientating international energy trade. Gas had been expected to play a key role in many countries as a lower-emitting "bridge" between dirtier fossil fuels and renewable energies. But today’s crisis has called into question natural gas’ reliability.

The current crisis could accelerate the rollout of cleaner, sustainable renewable energy such as wind and solar, just as the 1970s oil shocks spurred major advances in energy efficiency, as well as in nuclear, solar and wind power. The crisis has also underscored the importance of investing in robust gas and power network infrastructure to better integrate regional markets. The EU’s RePowerEU, presented in May 2022 and the United States’ Inflation Reduction Act , passed in August 2022, both contain major initiatives to develop energy efficiency and promote renewable energies. 

The global energy crisis can be a historic turning point

Energy saving tips

1. Heating: turn it down

Lower your thermostat by just 1°C to save around 7% of your heating energy and cut an average bill by EUR 50-70 a year. Always set your thermostat as low as feels comfortable, and wear warm clothes indoors. Use a programmable thermostat to set the temperature to 15°C while you sleep and 10°C when the house is unoccupied. This cuts up to 10% a year off heating bills. Try to only heat the room you’re in or the rooms you use regularly.

The same idea applies in hot weather. Turn off air-conditioning when you’re out. Set the overall temperature 1 °C warmer to cut bills by up to 10%. And only cool the room you’re in.

2. Boiler: adjust the settings

Default boiler settings are often higher than you need. Lower the hot water temperature to save 8% of your heating energy and cut EUR 100 off an average bill.  You may have to have the plumber come once if you have a complex modern combi boiler and can’t figure out the manual. Make sure you follow local recommendations or consult your boiler manual. Swap a bath for a shower to spend less energy heating water. And if you already use a shower, take a shorter one. Hot water tanks and pipes should be insulated to stop heat escaping. Clean wood- and pellet-burning heaters regularly with a wire brush to keep them working efficiently.

3. Warm air: seal it in

Close windows and doors, insulate pipes and draught-proof around windows, chimneys and other gaps to keep the warm air inside. Unless your home is very new, you will lose heat through draughty doors and windows, gaps in the floor, or up the chimney. Draught-proof these gaps with sealant or weather stripping to save up to EUR 100 a year. Install tight-fitting curtains or shades on windows to retain even more heat. Close fireplace and chimney openings (unless a fire is burning) to stop warm air escaping straight up the chimney. And if you never use your fireplace, seal the chimney to stop heat escaping.

4. Lightbulbs: swap them out

Replace old lightbulbs with new LED ones, and only keep on the lights you need. LED bulbs are more efficient than incandescent and halogen lights, they burn out less frequently, and save around EUR 10 a year per bulb. Check the energy label when buying bulbs, and aim for A (the most efficient) rather than G (the least efficient). The simplest and easiest way to save energy is to turn lights off when you leave a room.

5. Grab a bike

Walking or cycling are great alternatives to driving for short journeys, and they help save money, cut emissions and reduce congestion. If you can, leave your car at home for shorter journeys; especially if it’s a larger car. Share your ride with neighbours, friends and colleagues to save energy and money. You’ll also see big savings and health benefits if you travel by bike. Many governments also offer incentives for electric bikes.

6. Use public transport

For longer distances where walking or cycling is impractical, public transport still reduces energy use, congestion and air pollution. If you’re going on a longer trip, consider leaving your car at home and taking the train. Buy a season ticket to save money over time. Your workplace or local government might also offer incentives for travel passes. Plan your trip in advance to save on tickets and find the best route.

7. Drive smarter

Optimise your driving style to reduce fuel consumption: drive smoothly and at lower speeds on motorways, close windows at high speeds and make sure your tires are properly inflated. Try to take routes that avoid heavy traffic and turn off the engine when you’re not moving. Drive 10 km/h slower on motorways to cut your fuel bill by around EUR 60 per year. Driving steadily between 50-90 km/h can also save fuel. When driving faster than 80 km/h, it’s more efficient to use A/C, rather than opening your windows. And service your engine regularly to maintain energy efficiency.

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