Education Ministry Refuses to Lower NMT Threshold: 18% of Applicants Fail the Test.

Applicant Performance in 2023

According to Novyny.live: In 2023, 18% of applicants failed to achieve the minimum score on the National Multi-Subject Test (NMT). Ukraine's Ministry of Education and Science has deemed it unacceptable to reduce the passing threshold to 130 points for medical, legal, and diplomatic specialties. Deputy Minister of Education and Science Andriy Vitrenko noted that this year's results do not exceed last year's figures.

"As far as I know, this year's indicator does not exceed last year's figures. That is, it remains within the range of last year's results. This appears to be up to 18%."

— Andriy Vitrenko

This indicates that applicant success rates remain stable, though the difficulty level and requirements for students continue to spark discussion among experts.

Expert Opinions

Former Minister of Education and Science Liliia Hrynevych also opposed lowering the passing threshold for medical, legal, and diplomatic specialties. She stated that "strict requirements are imposed only on future lawyers, diplomats, and doctors," emphasizing the importance of high standards in these critically important fields. Hrynevych stressed that "the threshold for admission scores is linked to the risks posed by incompetent specialists' mistakes in critical areas."

Additionally, Minister of Education and Science Oksen Lisovyi rejected the initiative to remove mathematics as a mandatory subject, further signaling the intent to maintain high requirements for applicant knowledge. Thus, Ukraine's Ministry of Education and Science continues to uphold principles of high-quality education despite the challenges applicants face.

The current situation with applicants underscores the importance of maintaining high standards in education, particularly for specialties critical to society. Debates over the passing threshold and mandatory subjects highlight the tension between knowledge requirements and the realities of training young professionals. Upholding rigorous educational standards may be key to ensuring a competent workforce in the future.