Chapter 3 Higher Education Reforms In Ukraine During The COVID-19 Pandemic

The outbreak of COVID in Ukraine coincided with the turbulent time of reforms in all significant social and economic spheres, including the education sector. The challenges brought by the pandemic were exacerbated by the upheavals in in the political sphere, the balance of power of national and local political actors, and the quality of governance and leadership in government. The government imposed on-and-off curfews, depending on the circumstances. Strict quarantines, adaptive quarantines, and weekend quarantines were ordered on a rotation basis. As the data show, before the pandemic most students and teachers were not adept with online technologies. Moreover, new data on spending suggest that students and employees had to bear a significant cost in relation to health protection (e.g., purchasing masks and sanitation). The current pandemic crisis is likely to exacerbate and widen preexisting inequalities in access to education and educational performance due to the uneven spread of digital technologies and the required skills to use these technologies. Nevertheless, despite the many difficulties and challenges, the educational sector in Ukraine has managed to adapt gradually to new the realities. However, the success of this sector depends on how well socio-economic reforms are implemented in Ukraine, and on whether there is peace in the region.