Not all universities are worth saving, – KSE President Milovanov
22 September 2025 11:15
OPINION
During the educational and economic forum “Youth: You Can’t Let Go,” organized by Kommersant Ukrainian , the president of the Kyiv School of Economics, Tymofiy Mylovanov , said that the state should stop supporting a large number of weak universities and focus funding on the best educational institutions that can really compete with European ones.
“I think we should stop pretending that everything is fine with education. We are already competing with European universities, and we are still losing. They are better in terms of culture, attitude to students, and infrastructure,” Milovanov emphasized.
According to him, in the context of war and limited resources, Ukraine needs to make tough choices, otherwise there will be no result.
“We are trying to support 150 or 200 universities, but there is simply no money for this. Especially during the war. These are difficult decisions, but they need to be made,” he emphasized.
Milovanov noted that universities that are not able to provide quality education and prospects for young people are not fulfilling their functions.
“Mid-level or weak universities do not retain young people. They often just sell diplomas without solving any social, public or strategic tasks of the country’s development,” he said.
The KSE President also emphasized that, in addition to infrastructure, human attitude and academic culture are no less important factors for students.
“Infrastructure is important, but even more important is attention to students. Normal, equal treatment. This is our cultural problem. If we change the culture at universities, the infrastructure will start to improve,” Milovanov said.
He also added that there are already universities in Ukraine that demonstrate positive examples of change, but this issue needs to be treated systematically and seriously.
