A nationwide survey was conducted by the Institute for Social and Political Psychology of the National Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine in collaboration with the Association of Political Psychologists of Ukraine between October 14–23, 2024. The survey was part of an ongoing public opinion monitoring project focused on educational issues and reform efforts. A total of 1,513 respondents aged 18 and over were interviewed in areas under the control of the Ukrainian government. The sample is representative of the adult population of Ukraine, with a margin of error of 3.2%. The proportion of educators in the sample was deliberately increased based on a stratified sampling design.
Key Findings:
- Most Ukrainians believe education requires reform, but are dissatisfied with their awareness of ongoing changes.
42.5% of respondents believe the national education system is moving in the right direction—a significant increase from the COVID-era level of around 26% in 2020. The highest share of such optimism was recorded in the Southern region (52.3%). Nonetheless, public opinion on this issue remains polarized: 29.5% think the system is heading in the wrong direction, and 26% are undecided.
Support for education reform reached nearly three-quarters of respondents (69%), exceeding previous years’ levels (64–67%). Reform is supported most strongly in the South (88.1%) and least in the East (59.1%), but in every region and age group, supporters vastly outnumber opponents.
However, only 31.2% of respondents positively assess the progress of reforms, just slightly more than those who hold a negative view (27.3%). A large share (38.6%) remain undecided.
This uncertainty appears to stem from a widespread lack of awareness: as of October 2024, 60.7% of respondents were dissatisfied with their understanding of the current and planned reforms. This is the worst result recorded since observations began in 2016, with the Eastern region reporting the highest level of dissatisfaction (78.9%).
This low awareness may also explain why nearly half of all respondents (49.5%)—including educators—view the introduction of a 12-year secondary school system negatively. Although positive views on the transition have slightly increased from last year (to 27.5%), this modest rise contrasts sharply with widespread support (74.2%) for senior school specialization, which the 12-year structure is designed to enable.
- Ukrainians continue to cite corruption in university admissions and are largely unaware of the new admission procedures.
41.7% of respondents disagreed with the statement that this year’s admissions campaign was free from corruption, while only 27% agreed. However, responses vary by personal experience: among families with successful university entrants, 47.4% believed the process was clean, compared to 41.6% who disagreed. Among families whose members failed to gain admission, 75% were convinced the process was corrupt.
Only 15.5% claimed to be aware of the new admissions system that the Ministry of Education and Science began partially implementing this year, with full implementation planned for next year. Yet even these self-assessments appear inflated: among 400 surveyed educators, only six mentioned the introduction of state-funded education grants, and none of the general respondents did.
Given this lack of awareness, respondents were first asked about specific features of the new policy before being asked to evaluate the system as a whole. As expected, 49.1% reacted negatively to the planned reduction in government-funded university spots. Still, a notable share (37.5%)—including 30.1% of those with children planning to apply soon—reacted positively, possibly indicating a growing realism in public expectations regarding the state’s educational capacity.
A majority (66.4% overall, 62.7% among those with prospective applicants in the family) supported the new requirement for students receiving public or regional funding to work for at least three years in designated areas after graduation. The most positively received measure (81.5%) was the introduction of state grants for tuition-paying students.
Overall, the new admissions policy was viewed positively by 43.5% of respondents—more than twice the number who viewed it negatively (17.8%). One-third (33.8%) were undecided. This distribution was similar among educators. Regionally, the South was least supportive (23.1% positive vs. 33.6% negative).
Public reaction to the cancellation of evening and distance-learning programs was largely negative: 54% overall (and 55.1% among families with students) disapproved, while only about a quarter (23.1% overall, 25% among families with students) approved.
Public opinion remains unsettled on policies limiting university enrollment as a method of avoiding military service (including at the bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD levels): 17.9% find the measures insufficient, 24% consider them adequate, and 25.8% view them as excessive. The largest group—27.1%—remain undecided.
- Families with school- and university-aged children are more critical of learning outcomes during the full-scale war than educators.
44.5% of respondents gave a positive assessment of how prepared schools, vocational colleges, and universities were for the 2024 academic year—down from 61.6% in 2019. However, assessments varied widely: 56.3% of students, 48.7% of families with students, and 64.5% of educators rated readiness positively. Among those without students in the household, only 36.8% shared that view.
The distribution of learning formats under martial law has changed little since last year:
- In-person: 38.6% (schools), 29.2% (vocational schools), 27.3% (universities);
- Hybrid: 41.2% (schools), 55.6% (vocational schools), 51.3% (universities);
- Fully remote: 12.1% (schools), 8.3% (vocational schools), 13.9% (universities).
The share of students attending in-person classes increased by just over 4%, with the smallest growth seen in higher education.
Educators tend to assess academic outcomes during the war more positively than negatively (55.5% vs. 38.6%). In contrast, families with students are more skeptical: only 42.6% see outcomes as positive, while 44.9% view them negatively. Nonetheless, these results are more favorable than during the COVID-19 pandemic. In September 2020, only 27.1% of respondents gave positive assessments, while 55.7% rated learning outcomes negatively.
- After a temporary increase in 2023, public trust in education leadership is once again declining.
In 2023, 40.8% of respondents expressed at least some trust in the Ministry of Education and Science (63.9% among educators), while 31.3% (21.2% of educators) did not. A year later, trust levels fell to 34.6% overall (49.8% among educators), returning to 2021 levels. Distrust rose to 36.6% overall and 38.8% among educators.
When Oksen Lisovyi was appointed Minister of Education and Science in 2023, 28.5% of respondents (50% of educators) expressed trust in him, while 22.8% (18.2% of educators) did not. In 2024, trust declined to 21.9%, and distrust rose to 24.6%. Among educators, 36.2% now trust the minister, while 40.2% do not.
Paradoxically, Lisovyi’s name recognition also declined—from 75.6% to 63.5%—a phenomenon not observed with his predecessors. This decline likely reflects limited public and media engagement on his part, which may be negatively affecting perceptions of his performance.
More data: https://ispp.org.ua/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/1bul102024.pdf