Forest: MES offers a “zero course” for applicants who have not passed NMT
5 September 17:57
The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine plans to introduce a “zero course” at universities for those applicants who failed the National Multiple Subject Test (NMT). This was announced by Minister of Education and Science Oksen Lisovyi during an hour of questions to the government in the Verkhovna Rada, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
“The tool we offer, and we have already developed a corresponding draft resolution, is the so-called zero course. This is an admission without NMT, which will allow us to attract children who did not pass the test for various reasons – due to educational losses or studying abroad,” Lisovyi said.
According to him, admission to the “zero course” will be possible not only during the main campaign in the summer, but also in the winter or spring.
The purpose of the program
According to the minister, the program aims to give applicants a chance to improve their knowledge and prepare for the next NMT in order not to violate the principle of fair distribution of state funding in higher education.
“The zero-year course should bring children to the NMT so that this fair distribution of state resources is not violated,” he explained.
According to Lisovyi, the idea has already been supported by the rector community. The minister predicts that this innovation will help attract a significant number of young people, including those who are currently abroad.
Admission campaign 2025
The 2025 admission campaign in Ukraine involved 178,000 applicants, of whom almost 65,000 were enrolled on a state-funded basis. Up to 30 thousand more students will receive grants. In total, as of September 1, 2025, more than 750 thousand students are enrolled in higher education institutions.
The largest competition has traditionally been recorded in the specialties of Secondary Education, Medicine, and Computer Science.
At the same time, Ukraine’s educational system faces challenges caused by the war and mass migration of young people. There are about 2 million Ukrainian schoolchildren abroad, of whom 400,000 continue their studies under Ukrainian programs online.
The Ministry of Education and Science explains the introduction of the “zero course” by the need to maintain educational ties with those graduates who have temporarily dropped out of the Ukrainian educational process but are seeking higher education in their home country.
