What’s wrong with Ukraine’s education financing system?

The Centre for Economic Strategy (CES) invites you to join the presentation of the study “In-depth review of the non-military 2026 budget: Education”.

In terms of funding, education ranks fifth in the state budget. For 2026, UAH 286 billion, or 2.8% of GDP, is planned for its development. This is almost a third higher than last year and the highest amount in all the years of independence

However, even record funding does not solve the main problem – the inefficient allocation of funds. Structural issues, such as low salaries and an excessive number of undersized schools and universities, continue to persist in Ukrainian education.

We will discuss this in more detail on 5 June at 15:00 (Kyiv time) on Zoom.

During the event, we will present the results of our study, analyse funding problems in secondary and higher education, and propose solutions.

This will be followed by a discussion with invited experts.

Programme:

15:00 – 15:05 Introductory remarks by the moderator.

15:05 – 15:25 Presentation of the policy brief: Iryna Ippolitova, Senior Researcher at CES, and Oleksandra Myronenko, Economist at CES.

15:25 – 16:30 Expert discussion and Q&A.

Participants:

• Oleh Fasolia, Team Leader of the “Education on Local and Regional Level” direction within the Swedish-Ukrainian Polaris Programme “Supporting Multi-Level Governance in Ukraine”;
• Yuriy Khalavka, Vice-Rector for Research of the Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University;
• Ivanna Kobernyk, Education expert and Co-founder of the non-governmental organization “Smart Osvita”;
• Natalia Pipa, Secretary of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Education, Science, and Innovation;
• Kseniia Semenova, President of the National University «Kyiv Aviation Institute»;
• Oleh Sharov, Director General of the Higher Education and Adult Education Directorate at the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.

Moderator: Maksym Samoiliuk, Economist of the Centre for Economic Strategy.

The event will be held in Ukrainian with simultaneous translation into English.

The event is held with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation.