Photo: komersant
Ukraine is planning a major reform of its education system: with the shift to 12 years of school, the duration of a bachelor’s degree may be reduced to three years, according to Nadia Kuzmychova, Deputy Minister of Education and Science.
The Ministry of Education and Science said the new model will be rolled out in two stages. In 2029, an experimental program will begin for graduates of pilot lyceums, and from 2030, the 12+3 system will become the standard nationwide. Current tenth graders will finish school under the old 11-year system, while the first graduates of the three-year lyceums will appear in 2029 and be able to enter bachelor’s programs immediately.
The key condition for the shortened program is that students must enroll in the same field they specialized in at the lyceum. Those who change their field will need to follow the standard four-year program or take an additional compensatory course.
Student workload is not expected to increase: the bachelor’s program will comprise 180 ECTS credits, meaning 60 credits per year. At the same time, the structure of higher education will shift from the current four-year bachelor’s plus 1.5-year master’s model to a three-year bachelor’s plus two-year master’s system.
The Ministry expects that the first cohort of graduates under the new system will be small, so universities will compete for applicants. The main challenge for higher education institutions in the coming years will be updating programs to avoid duplicating knowledge students already gained in specialized schools.
