In Ukraine, tens of thousands of men over 25 were expelled from universities

Over the past year and a half, more than 50,000 men over the age of 25 have been expelled from Ukrainian universities. The number of such students has significantly increased since the start of the war.

This was reported by the State Service for Education Quality.

Officials attribute the surge in university enrollments among draft-age men to their desire to evade mobilization.

“In the past three years, the proportion of full-time bachelor’s, master’s, and postgraduate students over 25 years old has exceeded 20% of all students. In the 2021/2022 academic year, this share was just 4%. Following inspections conducted in 2024-2025, more than 50,000 men have been expelled from higher education institutions,” stated Ruslan Hurak, head of the service.

He also noted that universities accepting draft dodgers in exchange for bribes should start being stripped of their licenses.

At the same time, research staff must confirm their employment every three months to retain their deferment from mobilization.