The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine has launched large-scale checks of universities for fictitious graduate students who use education as a cover for mobilization. The ministry is working closely with law enforcement agencies and the State Service for Quality in Education. This is reported by Ukrainian Truth.
Deputy Minister Mykola Trofymenko stated that education is not a loophole for evading conscription. For Ukrainians of draft age, this is a signal: a 'student book' will no longer save you.
Which levels of education are checked for draft dodgers
The checks focus on the quality of training and the reality of education. According to Trofymenko, the Ministry of Education categorically rejects graduate school or doctoral programs as a way to avoid service.
“We absolutely do not accept education at any of our educational levels, including at the level of Doctor of Philosophy, as a way to avoid mobilization,” he emphasized.
Serious violations have already been identified. For example, the Classic Private University tried to retroactively add around three thousand 'graduate students' to the Unified State Electronic Database on Education Issues (EHEBO). The university immediately had its license revoked, and similar raids continue across the country.
What is the situation in graduate school
Today, about 15,000 graduate students are studying in Ukraine — the number has stabilized after dismissals. Here are key figures from recent years:
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4,600 entrants in 2025;
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10,000 graduate students (budget and contract) for 2024;
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7,000 budget places currently available, so the total number will increase.
Some students have already been expelled based on the results of monitoring and university decisions. The entrance campaign continues, but under close supervision: focus on real scholars, not 'those hiding'.
In 2024, the Ministry of Education simplified access to graduate school, distributing budget places by new criteria: a priority on scientific potential, not on gender or age. However, despite this, 80% of entrants in 2025 are men of draft age, as reported by the Verkhovna Rada.
Checks of more than 100 universities, initiated last spring, revealed falsifications: the SBU and National Police uncovered schemes involving officials and teachers who 'covered' draft dodgers.
Earlier, we wrote about whether there will be deferment from mobilization if studying in college in 2025.