New Minister of Education: who is being considered to replace Lisovyi
9 July 2025 13:20
EXCLUSIVE
The Ministry of Education and Science is preparing for changes. The staff rotation is expected to take place at the beginning of next week, on July 15-16. The possible successor to Oksen Lisovyi is being actively discussed on the sidelines. The latter is planned to be fired after a long period of criticism. This was reported by
The most likely candidate for the post of Minister of Education is Andriy Vitrenko, the current deputy minister and a member of the Kyiv City Council. According to
Vitrenko’s candidacy was publicly confirmed by MP Inna Sovsun, who wrote on Facebook:
“Yes, it’s true. The candidacy of the current Deputy Minister of Education and Science, Andriy Vitrenko, is being discussed for the post of the new Minister of Education and Science. At the same time, he is a deputy from the Servants of the People and the head of the budget commission of the Kyiv City Council.”
Sovsun’s words echo the assessment of another MP, Serhiy Babak, chairman of the Verkhovna Rada’s Education Committee, who in an exclusive commentary
“If they are talking about it so loudly, then this is probably one of the candidates.”
Among other potential candidates for the post of head of the Ministry of Education and Science, sources
- Yuriy Yevdokimov, rector of Zhytomyr Polytechnic.
- Oleksiy Dniprov, rector of KNUBA.
Why Lisovyi’s resignation is likely
The dismissal of the current minister, Oksen Lisovyi, has been discussed since last year. He is blamed for the failure of the admission campaign, in particular, for the rules of admission to higher education institutions that are not adapted to the conditions of war. They also criticize the optimization of higher education institutions without consulting the staff, as well as unfulfilled promises to raise teachers’ salaries.
Last August, the Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Oksen Lisovyi announced that the Ministry of Education and Science had approved the Conceptual Framework for Reforming Historical Education in the General Secondary Education System. In the comments to this post, Ukrainians called Lisovyi the worst minister, an enemy of Ukraine, and “worse than Tabachnyk.”
It should be noted that the day before, MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak announced that Ukraine would have a “second-rate government” with former deputies of current ministers playing key roles.
At the same time, the MP announced a number of expected personnel decisions, including the resignation of Minister Oksen Lisovyi.
According to sources
What is known about Oksen Lisovyi
Oksen Lisovyi was appointed Minister of Education and Science on March 21, 2023, by a decision of the Verkhovna Rada. Prior to his appointment, he headed the National Center of the Minor Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. In 2021, he received the honorary title of Honored Education Worker of Ukraine.
However, it later turned out that plagiarism was found in Lisovyi’s dissertation. Soon after, he won the Academic Dishonor anti-award in the Plagiarist of the Year category. Lisovyi admitted the fact of plagiarism and was deprived of his degree.
