The key facts
- The number of students over 25 has grown more than sevenfold — from 30,000 in the 2021–2022 academic year to 217,770
- Inspections cover the legality of enrollment, attendance, the organization of the educational process, and exam results; in 2025, 34,884 people were expelled
- Head of the parliamentary education committee Serhiy Babak previously proposed abolishing the deferment for students over 25
Inspections of educational institutions
Ukraine is preparing new inspections of universities and colleges where men over 25 are enrolled. The authorities suspect that some citizens enter educational institutions not for the sake of education, but to obtain a deferment from mobilization. This was reported by the head of the State Service for Education Quality, Ruslan Gurak, as reported by Life.ru.
Sharp rise in the number of adult students
The reason for the attention of oversight bodies was statistics: if in the 2021–2022 academic year there were about 30,000 students over the age of 25, now, according to the agency, there are 217,770 — meaning the figure has grown more than sevenfold. In some institutions, such students make up as much as 98% of the total number.
What exactly is being checked
According to Gurak, inspectors examine the legality of enrollment, class attendance, the organization of the educational process, and exam results. The service had previously recorded violations: in some institutions, applicants were admitted without a proper entrance selection process, and some students in fact did not participate in the educational process at all. As a result of the 2025 inspections, 34,884 people were expelled from educational institutions. At the same time, the agency emphasizes that a student's age in itself does not indicate a violation of the law or an attempt to evade mobilization, and the right to education remains regardless of age.
Next steps and a legislative initiative
Gurak called on university leaders to independently review learning outcomes during the current examination session; the service will conduct a repeat analysis in January 2027. Earlier, as reported by Life.ru, the head of the parliamentary committee on education, Serhiy Babak, proposed completely abolishing the mobilization deferment for students over 25, explaining the initiative by the sharp increase in the number of men of conscription age entering universities and colleges. Thus, for now we are talking about inspections of already enrolled students, while the abolition of the deferment remains only a proposal, not an adopted decision.
