Associate professor at KNU: 11th-grade classes are half-empty due to mass departure of students abroad

Ukraine is facing a critical shortage of upper-grade students — graduating classes are emptying out due to the mass departure of teenagers abroad.

This was stated by associate professor at Taras Shevchenko Kyiv National University and blogger Mikhail Vysotsky.

“11th-grade classes are half-empty, because boys are going abroad to study in whole classes. The situation with enrollment in specialties that used to have many students is very difficult. Some mothers are taking their sons out of the country now because they fear that later they won’t be able to leave. Right now there is a shortage of applicants in almost all engineering and technical specialties,” — Vysotsky said.

According to him, the problem has become especially acute for engineering and technical specialties, where shortfalls are being recorded almost universally. Vysotsky also pointed to the motivation of families: mothers are rushing to take their sons out of the country, fearing that the possibility of leaving may be closed off in the future.