Over 23 thousand male students expelled from Ukrainian universities

Source: Mykhailo Vynnytskyi

In a clear bid to weed out draft-dodging schemes, Ukrainian universities have expelled 23,448 men over the age of 30 in just 4 months before the start of 2024 school year. Among other reasons cited for students’ dismissal are poor academic performance, absenteeism, and other violations. According to reports, 5,805 students were removed following inspections by the State Service for Education Quality, while the rest were dismissed based on internal university reviews.

Deputy minister Mykhailo Vynnytskyi argued that many of these men used it as a scheme allowing to avoid conscription.  “It’s clear that those expelled were never intending to be genuine students; they sought to use the status to avoid other obligations. Their removal shows the system’s ability to self-regulate,” Vynnytskyi added.

In addition, law enforcement has opened eight criminal cases against university officials, while the Ministry of Education had to revoke the licenses of several educational institutions that were found helping draft-evasion schemes.