Statement by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal at Government Session

Good afternoon, dear colleagues, fellow Ukrainians.

Today, Ukraine is waging a war for survival. russia wants to wipe out not only our cities and villages. russia wants to destroy our hope and faith in a better future.

That is why now, in times of full-scale war, we understand the importance of developing and transforming Ukrainian education and medicine.

This is the foundation of a successful state. This is the basis for reconstruction and our progress.

This year’s budget spending on education will amount to more than UAH 170 billion. This is an increase of over UAH 20 billion compared to last year.

Payments to Ukrainian educators, our teachers, will be increased by 21%.

We are allocating significant funds, UAH 2.5 billion, for the construction of shelters. UAH 1.5 billion will be allocated for the New Ukrainian School. UAH 1.5 billion – to modernise school canteens. UAH 1 billion – for school buses.

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This year, we also plan to launch a major reform of higher education. First of all, we are talking about changing the financing approaches.

At present, the higher education system has both state-funded and contractual forms. We propose to change this approach in order to cover as many students as possible with state support.

Today, we are adopting a draft law according to which students will be able to study at the expense of the state order, state grants, low-interest loans and on a contractual basis.

The state order implies a completely free education for students at the expense of the budget. The opportunity to study for free will be given to the best applicants according to the competitive score. Part of the state-funded places will also be allocated to vulnerable categories.

The state order will primarily concern the specialities that the state needs. For example, society needs teachers and doctors. So the state will pay for the education of the best candidates in these fields. And after successful graduation, it will offer the first job.

At the same time, we are introducing a model of state grants that will allow us to cover all or part of tuition fees. These grants will not have to be repaid and will not involve any work obligations.

The amount of the grant will be determined by two criteria. The first is the results of an external knowledge assessment. The second is the chosen field. Although the amount of the grant will not necessarily cover the full cost of education, the number of applicants receiving financial support will increase significantly due to a more equitable distribution of this support.

So, today we have 60% of students studying on a contractual basis. Our aim is to ensure that more than 60% of students receive some form of state support: the state order, grants, vouchers or, in the future, low-interest loans.

Importantly, the new system will only apply to new entrants.

Among the innovations we are also proposing is the establishment of special conditions for admission to universities for our veterans, children of fallen Ukrainian Heroes, children with disabilities, orphans and other privileged categories.

Higher education should become more qualitative and more accessible to those who really want it.

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This year, we are increasing funding not only for education but also for healthcare.

Healthcare spending will total UAH 239 billion, which is UAH 31 billion more than last year.

We are adding UAH 16 billion to the healthcare guarantee programme. We are launching a pilot project for free dental prostheses for veterans. We are allocating UAH 1 billion for the construction of shelters and safe conditions in hospitals. We continue to make healthcare more accessible and of higher quality, regardless of where a person lives.

In particular, we will pay close attention to financing rehabilitation, maternity and childcare, as well as cancer diagnosis and treatment. We are also increasing the Affordable Medicines programme to UAH 5.2 billion.

We will continue to develop digital tools. We plan to launch an electronic patient account in the near future. It will allow Ukrainians to change their personal data and manage their declarations with family doctors.

We will continue to improve the efficiency of medical procurement. We have introduced changes that require medical institutions to purchase medicines and medical devices through the so-called electronic catalogue. This has contributed to significant cost savings and has also accelerated the procurement process.

Today, we will adopt a resolution to expand the list of medicines and medical devices that will be procured through this catalogue. These changes are important because they are about transparency and the efficient use of taxpayers’ money.

This is the kind of state we are building in all areas. Efficient, transparent, digital. This is necessary to ensure victory. This is necessary to become a member of the EU.

Thank you for your attention. Glory to Ukraine!