Several Slovak schools have adopted measures to help students from Ukraine. (source: TASR)
Anastasiia Shevchyk learned about the possibility of studying in Slovakia at her secondary school in Ukraine when it was visited by employees from an agency that helps Ukrainian students attend Slovak universities and colleges. Since she was intrigued by their presentation, she started gathering more information about the schools and programmes they offer. She admits that it was hard for her to choose a university.
“I found the very idea of studying abroad a bit crazy at the time,” Shevchyk, who is currently in her fourth year at the University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Košice, focusing on general veterinary medicine, told The Slovak Spectator.
The number of Ukrainians studying at Slovak universities and colleges increased significantly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. While there were only 5,726 Ukrainians studying both full-time and part-time at public and private schools in all three degree programmes in the 2021/2022 school year, a year later it had risen to 10,184. There were 10,466 students from Ukraine reported by October 31, 2023, according to data from the Slovak Centre of Scientific and Technical Information.
Several Slovak schools have adopted measures to help students from Ukraine. Yet university education expert Renáta Hall opines that they were not ready for the influx of Ukrainian university students.
“This applied especially in terms of teaching in languages other than Slovak and improving the Slovak of incoming students, as well as in terms of integrating these students into the Slovak environment and education at a respective school,” she said.
Helping students and refugees
After the war broke out in Ukraine, the Education Ministry organised several meetings with universities and colleges where they discussed various topics, like admission procedures.
It adopted an amendment to the Higher Education Act, simplifying the admission procedure for people with temporary protection, subsidiary protection and asylum if they cannot obtain documents proving their education, such as a secondary school graduation certificate. To be accepted to a university or college, they have to submit an affidavit on meeting the conditions and pass the study prerequisite test.
