Definition of the target group(s)
In Ukraine, the state and higher education institutions (HEIs) create the necessary conditions for access to quality higher education for persons with special educational needs. Various legislative acts define the following categories of citizens as persons with special educational needs and as groups entitled to different forms of additional public support:
- persons with disabilities unable to attend an educational institution, based on recommendations from healthcare and social protection authorities;
- persons with medical conditions listed in the Order ‘On Approval of the List of Diseases that May Prevent Citizens from Taking External Independent Assessment’ (Наказ ‘Про затвердження Переліку захворювань, що можуть бути перешкодою для проходження громадянами зовнішнього незалежного оцінювання’);
- persons with disabilities of Class I and II and children with disabilities under the age of 18, if their health condition does not prevent studying in the chosen field of study (Law of Ukraine ‘On the Fundamentals of Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities in Ukraine’, Закон України ‘Про основи соціальної захищеності осіб з інвалідністю в Україні’);
- citizens of Ukraine with the right to obtain a second higher education free of charge in state and municipal HEIs if their health condition prevents them from performing professional or official duties based on a previously obtained qualification. It needs confirmation by employment-related recommendations per the legislation and/or in other cases provided by law (Law of Ukraine ‘On Higher Education’, Закон України ‘Про вищу освіту’);
- persons recognised as participants in hostilities, persons with disabilities resulting from war, and persons affected during the Revolution of Dignity (Law of Ukraine ‘On the Status of War Veterans and Guarantees of Their Social Protection’, Закон України ‘Про статус ветеранів війни, гарантії їх соціального захисту’);
- children of persons recognised as participants in hostilities, persons with disabilities resulting from war, and persons affected during the Revolution of Dignity (Law of Ukraine ‘On the Status of War Veterans and Guarantees of Their Social Protection’);
- children of persons who died as defined in the Law of Ukraine ‘On the Status of War Veterans and Guarantees of Their Social Protection’;
- children of persons who died as a result of injuries, contusion or other damage to health sustained during participation in the Revolution of Dignity;
- children of persons posthumously awarded the title Hero of Ukraine for civic courage, patriotism, and the defence of democratic values, human rights, and freedoms during the Revolution of Dignity;
- children registered as internally displaced persons;
- children living in settlements located along the contact line;
- persons deprived of personal liberty as a result of armed aggression against Ukraine, after their release (Law of Ukraine ‘On Social and Legal Protection of Persons in Respect of Whom the Fact of Deprivation of Personal Liberty as a Result of Armed Aggression against Ukraine Has Been Established, and Members of Their Families’, Закон України ‘Про соціальний і правовий захист осіб, стосовно яких встановлено факт позбавлення особистої свободи внаслідок збройної агресії проти України, та членів їхніх сімей’);
- children of persons deprived of personal liberty as a result of armed aggression against Ukraine (Law of Ukraine ‘On Social and Legal Protection of Persons in Respect of Whom the Fact of Deprivation of Personal Liberty as a Result of Armed Aggression against Ukraine Has Been Established, and Members of Their Families’);
- children of persons deprived of personal liberty as a result of armed aggression against Ukraine, who died (Law of Ukraine ‘On Social and Legal Protection of Persons in Respect of Whom the Fact of Deprivation of Personal Liberty as a Result of Armed Aggression against Ukraine Has Been Established, and Members of Their Families’). The Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine ‘On Providing State Targeted Support to Certain Categories of Citizens for Obtaining Vocational, Professional Pre-Higher, and Higher Education’, Постанова Кабінету Міністрів України ‘Про надання державної цільової підтримки деяким категоріям громадян для здобуття професійної, фахової передвищої та вищої освіти’) also confirms these provisions;
- orphans and children deprived of parental care continuing their studies up to the age of 23 or until completion of education (Laws of Ukraine ‘On Higher Education’, ‘On Ensuring Organisational and Legal Conditions for the Social Protection of Orphans and Children Deprived of Parental Care’ – Закон України ‘Про забезпечення організаційно-правових умов соціального захисту дітей-сиріт та дітей, позбавлених батьківського піклування’);
- persons who, during their studies between the ages of 18 and 23, lost their parents (dead or missing) (Law of Ukraine ‘On Ensuring Organisational and Legal Conditions for the Social Protection of Orphans and Children Deprived of Parental Care’);
- persons with the right to social scholarship (Law of Ukraine ‘On the Status and Social Protection of Citizens Affected by the Chornobyl Disaster’, Закон України ‘Про статус і соціальний захист громадян, які постраждали внаслідок Чорнобильської катастрофи’);
- miners with at least three years of underground work experience (Law of Ukraine ‘On Increasing the Prestige of Mining Labour’, Закон України ‘Про підвищення престижності шахтарської праці’);
- persons who became students (cadets) within three years of completing basic and/or complete general secondary education. Their parents should be miners with at least 15 years of underground work experience. Those parents might have died as a result of a work-related accident, or they have disabilities of Class I or II (Law of Ukraine ‘On Increasing the Prestige of Mining Labour’);
- persons whose housing was destroyed or damaged and unfit for habitation as a result of hostilities, terrorist acts, or sabotage caused by the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. This information should be in the State Register of Property Damaged or Destroyed as a Result of Hostilities;
- children with disabilities and persons with disabilities of Classes I–III;
- students (cadets) from families receiving assistance under the Law of Ukraine ‘On State Social Assistance to Low-Income Families’ (Закон України ‘Про державну соціальну допомогу малозабезпеченим сім’ям’);
other categories of citizens listed in the document ‘Procedure and Conditions for Providing State Targeted Support to Certain Categories of Citizens for Obtaining Vocational, Professional Pre-Higher, and Higher Education’ (Порядок та умови надання державної цільової підтримки деяким категоріям громадян для здобуття професійної, фахової передвищої та вищої освіти).
Specific support measures
To ensure the right to higher education for persons in need of social support, Ukraine provides a wide range of support services. These services include educational, living, financial, and other types of assistance. The state provides targeted support in the following forms:
- full payment of tuition fees from the general fund of the state or local budgets. It works for applicants admitted to study under state (regional) funding. It follows the Procedure and Conditions for Providing State Targeted Support to Certain Categories of Citizens for Obtaining Vocational, Professional Pre-Higher, and Higher Education. It considers the admission rules for the relevant academic year;
- partial payment of tuition fees from state or local budgets through preferential long-term loans. This mechanism applies to persons admitted to study at their own expense or at the expense of legal entities. It follows the Procedure for Preferential Lending for Obtaining Vocational, Professional Pre-higher and Higher Education (Постанова Кабінету Міністрів України ‘Про затвердження Порядку пільгового кредитування для здобуття професійної (професійно-технічної), фахової передвищої та вищої освіти’);
- priority transfer of learners admitted based on contracts with individuals or legal entities to state-funded (regional-funded) places in state or municipal HEIs. Such places must become available through reallocation of state (regional) funding volumes;
- social scholarships for persons studying full-time under state or regional funding. It follows the Procedure for Using State Budget Funds for the Payment of Social Scholarships to Students (Cadets) of Higher Education Institutions under the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (Постанова Кабінету Міністрів України ‘Про внесення змін до Порядку використання коштів, передбачених у державному бюджеті для виплати соціальних стипендій студентам (курсантам) закладів фахової передвищої та вищої освіти’);
- free provision of textbooks from the library collections of the relevant education institution;
- free access to the Internet and databases in state and municipal education institutions;
- free accommodation in student dormitories or accommodation at a reduced cost for persons studying full-time.
The state provides targeted support to the listed categories of persons in the following forms:
- full payment of tuition fees for a specific level of higher education from the general fund of the state or local budgets. The applicants must have state (regional) funded places per admission rules and quotas set by law;
- preferential long-term loans for obtaining higher education;
- grant support per the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine ‘On the Implementation of an Experimental Project on Providing State Grants for Higher Education’ (Постанова Кабінету Міністрів України ‘Про реалізацію експериментального проекту щодо надання державних грантів на здобуття вищої освіти’);
- priority transfer of learners admitted based on contracts with individuals or legal entities to state-funded (regional-funded) places in state or municipal HEIs. Such places must become available through reallocation of state (regional) funding volumes. It follows the Procedure and Conditions for Providing State Targeted Support to Certain Categories of Citizens for Obtaining Vocational, Professional Pre-Higher and Higher Education.
In addition, HEIs provide education services to persons with disabilities on equal terms with other citizens. Institutions ensure appropriate staffing and material resources. They apply reasonable adjustment to account for individual needs (Law of Ukraine ‘On the Fundamentals of Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities in Ukraine’, Закон України ‘Про основи соціальної захищеності осіб з інвалідністю в Україні’).