Ukrainian youth is losing student life: Kyiv National University talks about generational challenges and “education migration”
26 September 2025 11:32
EXCLUSIVE
The problem of “quiet migration” of students is directly related not only to the war, but also to the lack of faith in Ukrainian education. This was stated by Solomiya Orlenko, chairman of the Student Parliament of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, during the second panel of the forum “Youth cannot be let go,” organized by
She recalled that it was thanks to the External Independent Testing that she was able to enter a prestigious university, although she grew up in a small town:
“I was a child from a simple town who dreamed of going to Kyiv National University. And only thanks to the EIT did this dream come true. If these exams hadn’t happened, I would have lost my chance.”
Different generations of students – different challenges
According to Orlenko, today’s applicants are radically different from those who entered before the war:
- “pre-war students had offline learning and developed social skills;
- the “covid generation” lost some of their communication due to isolation;
- the current freshmen, who entered the university during the full-scale invasion, are deprived of normal student life.
“These children do not know what student life is. They don’t know how to communicate, they are afraid to make a choice and even more afraid to change it,” Orlenko said.
Why young people leave
The war and security issues are the main reasons why students leave Ukraine. At the same time, the speaker emphasized that the trend of “European education is more prestigious” existed even before the invasion:
“We still hear it: “I studied at a top school in Europe or the United States,” and this sounds much cooler than a diploma from a Ukrainian university. This trend needs to be broken.”
Four types of students and tasks of universities
Orlenko identified four groups of young people:
- Scientists who want to do research.
- Practitioners who want knowledge for work.
- “Inertial students” who stay at the university only “because they have to.”
- Those who are getting a second degree.
In her opinion, universities should create conditions for all these categories. If this is not the case, students choose academic mobility abroad and often do not return.
Orlenko emphasized that young people are not running away from Ukraine, but are looking for a space for self-realization.
“We would not have left if there were opportunities here. We want to build our future at home, but universities and the state must prove that Ukrainian education is not worse than foreign education,” explained Solomiya Orlenko.
The speaker also left a rhetorical question in her speech: how can we make young people finally believe in Ukrainian education?
Thus, the war, covid and lack of communication skills have created new challenges for student generations. At the same time, the trend toward the “prestige” of foreign education is pushing the outflow of applicants. To stop the “silent migration,” universities and the state should not only talk about prospects, but actually create conditions for development – from science to practice. After all, young people are ready to stay if they feel the value and strength of Ukrainian education.
As written by
