Air Raid Sirens Push Testing Past Midnight in Odesa Region: 129 Students Still Taking Exams After 9 PM.

How Air Raid Alerts Disrupted the National Multi-Subject Test

According to Novyny.live: On June 8, air raid sirens severely disrupted the National Multi-Subject Test (NMT) in the Odesa region. Due to repeated alarms, some test-takers spent up to 13 hours at exam centers and voiced complaints about the conditions. A total of 1,382 candidates registered for the exam, but only 1,349 showed up at testing sites. After the sirens subsided, 1,247 participants returned for the second phase.

The alarm on June 8 lasted over six hours, significantly complicating the testing process. By 7:00 PM, 875 participants were still taking the exam; of these, 129 finished after 9:00 PM, with the last two completing their tasks around 10:30 PM. Between 105 and 107 participants were unable to complete the NMT at all. Notably, only 9 out of 34 testing centers had bomb shelters, adding to the difficulties.

Outlook and Criticism

According to regulations, if total alert time exceeds 2.5 hours, an automatic transition to an additional session is triggered. That extra NMT session is scheduled for July 16–24.

Dmytro Lubinets, the Ombudsman, stated: 'This is an unacceptable failure of the NMT administration system under martial law—it fails to provide children with safety, basic conditions, or equal opportunities, and effectively violates their rights.'

The situation has raised concerns about the conditions under which critical state exams are held and highlighted the urgent need for better contingency planning.

This disruption underscores the necessity of adapting educational processes to wartime realities. Given the numerous complaints from participants and criticism from officials, efforts must focus on improving exam center infrastructure and ensuring student safety. The additional session scheduled for July will be a crucial opportunity for those who could not finish the test, but it also raises broader questions about the state of the education system during conflict.