Student outflow. How to retain and return Ukrainian school graduates from abroad

As of March 2023, more than half a million Ukrainian students are still abroad, according to the Ministry of Education and Science. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, hundreds of thousands of children have been forced to continue their education in other countries, and today future school leavers are faced with a choice: to enter a Ukrainian or foreign university. 

A year of integration into the educational system and society of another country, the lack of safe and comfortable study conditions in Ukrainian universities — all this does not work in favor of Ukrainian universities. LIGA.Life found out what problems the brain drain could cause and how to return and retain Ukrainian students.

The story of Valeriy, an 11th grader from Severodonetsk

Before the full-scale war, Valeriy lived and studied in Severodonetsk, Luhansk Oblast, but after the Russian invasion he was forced to go abroad. Together with his family, he was granted asylum in Belgium, where he almost immediately enrolled in a German-language school. He had to complete the 10th grade in a Ukrainian educational institution remotely.