Ukraine risks losing generation of engineers and programmers: how math shapes country's future

42% of Ukrainian secondary school students lack basic math skills, according to the international PISA education quality study.

The notion that math is irrelevant in real life or work is something almost everyone has heard, whether in jest or seriously. However, this tarnished reputation of the school subject poses severe risks for a country at war. It leads to financial illiteracy, susceptibility to propaganda, and a shortage of qualified personnel for the defense industry, IT, and other critical sectors.

What prevents Ukrainian students from mastering math? Why are textbooks alone insufficient? How can math illiteracy now affect the country's future later? LIGA.net investigates.

The math education gap in numbers

Kateryna Terletska, a doctor of physical and mathematical sciences, warns that if Ukraine continues to neglect math, it risks losing an entire generation of engineers, programmers, and scientists. "That means losing the people who will work on advanced technologies: creating cutting-edge defense systems, developing the rocket industry, designing drones, and advancing artificial intelligence for data analysis and process automation," she tells LIGA.net.

Employers already feel the shortage of qualified specialists.

Terletska explains that without addressing the education gap now, Ukraine will lack enough specialists after the war to rebuild the country, economy, and defense.

Nearly half of Ukrainian schoolchildren lack basic math skills. These students can perform elementary calculations and understand basic mathematical concepts but struggle with more complex operations, such as percentages, area calculations, and applying knowledge in real-life scenarios

Ukrainian students lag behind their peers from OECD countries – which includes 37 mostly high-income, high human development index nations considered developed. The average math score in these countries is 472 (approximately 1.5 years ahead).

Knowledge levels also vary within Ukraine: rural students lag 4.5 years behind their urban peers. New studies confirm this disparity. According to the second phase of a national educational quality monitoring study conducted in May 2024 by the State Service for Education Quality, students in Kyiv consistently perform well, unlike those in the eastern and northern regions.

Overall, math performance has remained stagnant over the past year, with sixth graders slightly improving but eighth graders performing worse than last year.

Interestingly, both sixth and eighth graders have struggled for two consecutive years with tasks requiring the application of knowledge and reasoning. 

Teachers: superheroes on a shoestring budget

Teachers remain key figures in schools, and research shows that better teaching quality leads to better student outcomes. Motivated educators produce better results.

Iryna Chernenko, a teacher at a Cherkasy high school, sees teaching as her calling. Initially an elementary school teacher, she later retrained to teach math. She's not one to sit idle. Chernenko actively engages her students in competitions and regularly improves her skills. Her principal proudly notes that Chernenko develops herself independently, although no one pays her extra for it.

In class, the teacher doesn't limit herself to textbooks and curriculum, inventing additional activities for students. For example, she dedicated a whole week to work on children's motivation — they prepared presentations about prominent scientists, researched where math might be useful, and solved applied problems.

"Children need constant motivation, and this should be done through practical examples, which the curriculum lacks. We need to explain where it will be useful in life — for example, when doing repairs or comparing bank interest rates. But most often, examples have to be invented independently," Chernenko tells LIGA.net.

Teaching for over a decade, Chernenko observes that students' math skills have declined in recent years. The issue lies not with the students but with how they process information. The gadget generation finds traditional textbooks "dry," so teaching methods need to adapt to new realities—a burden that falls on teachers.

But this "creativity" doesn't come with extra rest hours or an increased salary. Senior researcher at the Institute of Mathematics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Iryna Yehorchenko compares the relationship between teachers and the state to a classic abusive union: with meager salaries (currently $260 for a young teacher), teachers are still made to feel like they're "not good enough."

"Heroic teachers exist. Despite the meager salaries, they continue teaching and go the extra mile. But such people are few," Yehorchenko tells LIGA.net.

Teachers are not the sole factor affecting math proficiency. Other influences include geographic location (urban students outperform rural ones), access to resources (computers, tablets), private tutoring opportunities, and motivated parents and students' emotional states.

The school math curriculum: what and how students learn

According to the 2024 standard education program, fifth to seventh graders have 4-6 hours of math weekly. These are critical years for learning foundational concepts like arithmetic, fractions, percentages, equations, geometry, and functions. Missing or failing to grasp these fundamentals makes higher-level math in later years a struggle.

Students who fall behind during these years must catch up independently, requiring time and motivation. Yehorchenko and other mathematicians argue that schools should focus more on basics and allocate time for repetition.

"Almost every lesson introduces a new topic, but the curriculum lacks basic concepts like percentages or fractions, which need annual review," Yehorchenko says. For example, in the same author's algebra textbook for seventh grade, there's material reviewing the previous two years at the beginning, while eighth- and ninth-grade books have no reviews.

Moreover, curricula emphasize theoretical knowledge, which students struggle to apply in real life. Standard algebra textbooks often present material in a dry, abstract form.

Integrated courses could help, allowing students to study the same topic across multiple subjects to understand connections and apply knowledge practically. For example, combining literature, natural sciences, or history.

Although not yet mandatory, integrated courses will become part of high school specialized education by 2027 under education reform plans. 

Why math matters: the talent war

The advantages of studying mathematics seem distant and illusory to many. Why need these equations and integrals if success in the modern world seemingly can be achieved without them? Stereotypes are firmly rooted since the Soviet Union's collapse when people with engineering education couldn't realize themselves in the 90s. This created the idea that mathematics is unnecessary, says Iryna Yehorchenko. Supposedly, one can live without it.

Math illiteracy is a direct marker of functional illiteracy, also evidenced by PISA results. A significant portion of schoolchildren simply can't read and understand text meaningfully. And without this, it's impossible to critically evaluate information.

"This guarantees problems with critical thinking, numerical literacy, gullibility, and vulnerability to fraud and propaganda," Yehorchenko explains.

Western scientific research also confirms that during mathematics study, various brain areas responsible for sensory processing, spatial representation, geometric analysis, and self-control actively develop.

The economy also suffers from math illiteracy. War only accelerates processes that already needed attention: the state needs innovations in the defense sphere, which is impossible without mathematically skilled specialists. The military technology market already acutely lacks highly qualified personnel.

"There's a real 'talent war' between employers for professionals with solid background, and this applies not only to technical/engineering directions and IT sphere but practically all specialties," explains Taras Kadyhrib, HR Director at DroneUA, to LIGA.net.

Meanwhile, the situation with young specialists and mass positions looks more optimistic. Companies are investing in developing and training less experienced employees, but this requires both time and resources.

Mathematics is critical for most professions deemed vital by the state for development and reconstruction. These include specialists in aviation and aerospace engineering, metallurgy, energy, engineering, radio technology, transportation, geodesy, and construction.

"Mathematics is a core subject for future IT specialists enrolling in programs like Software Engineering, Computer Science, Cybersecurity and Information Protection, and Systems Analysis," Education.ua representatives explained to LIGA.net.

Future teachers and lecturers in physics, astronomy, and mathematics—currently in short supply in Ukraine—also need a high level of proficiency in the subject.

"The state must start addressing this demand for professionals (scientists, engineers, and programmers – ed.) immediately. It's not only about survival in the war but also about securing our future independence and safety," said Kateryna Terletska.

Mission: save mathematics

The issue of low math literacy in Ukraine is not new. In 2018, PISA results revealed that 36% of children lacked basic math skills. By 2021, over one-third of students failed to achieve the minimum score in math on the external independent evaluation.

The decline in mathematical literacy is actually a global trend, but for a country at war, the consequences can be particularly devastating.

One of the first steps to solving the problem is developing modern programs that combine theory with practical life situations.

"Supporting math competitions and holding math festivals to raise awareness of the subject is vital," suggested Kateryna Terletska.

The Minor Academy of Sciences (MAS) is already organizing events like the annual International Pi Day and has launched a digital course, Mathematics: Puzzles, which introduces students and adults to math challenges beyond traditional curricula. JAS also plans to establish a center for mitigating educational losses, helping teachers adapt to new learning environments and better engage students who have lost interest or fallen behind due to the war.

"Training teachers is one of the most crucial steps in overcoming educational losses and improving the quality of math education," Terletska emphasized.

Schools must prioritize foundational math literacy for all students while creating opportunities for advanced study for those with a knack for the subject. To this end, the Ministry of Education and Science (MES) released a new curriculum for grades 5–9 in October, designed to reduce lesson hours and allow teachers more time for complex or key topics tied to foundational knowledge.

Technology can also help overcome educational losses.

Oksana Onopriyenko, coordinator of the NGO STEM Education Ukraine, together with her team, conducted research on using the Finnish platform Eduten, which allows teachers to accurately diagnose gaps in students' knowledge. "Learning losses are deeply individual indicators and cannot be the same for all children in class," the expert explains to LIGA.net.

The platform analyzes data for each student and provides personalized assignments to address deficiencies. Teachers can use artificial intelligence and pre-designed tests to help students improve. Additionally, the state All-Ukrainian Online School platform offers tools for identifying and addressing student learning gaps.

The Ministry of Education told LIGA.net it is working systematically to address educational losses, including in math. Efforts include revising curricula and piloting school programs in collaboration with the savED charity, which restores access to education in war-affected communities. In September, UNICEF-supported digital learning centers launched an ecosystem for overcoming educational gaps.

However, while pilot initiatives and new programs roll out, math literacy risks remaining stagnant.

Iryna Yehorchenko believes relying solely on the state or teachers is unwise. "Parents must take initiative. If they want something for their children, they need to find solutions themselves—whether through good tutors or quality schools," she said.