The development of education is an absolute priority for Ukraine. This was stated by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal during the global launch of the results of the latest international survey on the quality of education, PISA, which took place on 5 December.

The event was attended by OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education of the Republic of Korea Lee Ju-Ho, Minister of Education and Research of Estonia Kristina Kallas, and Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan Moriyama Masahito.

“Education is the foundation on which we will build a post-war state. Strong, competitive, innovative, integrated into the European space,” said Denys Shmyhal.

The Prime Minister stressed the importance of not only providing students with knowledge, but also developing their ability to apply it, to think critically and, most importantly, to counter enemy propaganda during the war.

According to the Head of Government, the PISA surveys, in which Ukraine has participated since 2016, allow to assess the success of the steps and adjust the strategy.

“In 2022, we participated in the international survey for the second time. The report presented today is a source of important data on what we can be proud of and what we need to work on more carefully,” said Denys Shmyhal.

The Head of Government pointed out that the survey was conducted under extreme conditions. But despite air raids, shelling and constant stress, more than 3,800 students from 164 educational institutions in Ukraine took part in the assessment.

“I would like to thank Ukrainian teachers and organisers for this result. And also for their daily hard work,” said the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister stressed that the Government would make every effort to ensure that the Ukrainian education system is stable and effective.

Denys Shmyhal thanked the OECD and its leadership for their continuous and systematic support to Ukraine in the field of education and science. Ukraine has already signed an agreement to participate in PISA 2025.