The culture ministers want to make it easier for Ukrainian schoolchildren who were unable to complete their secondary school because of their flight to gain access to German universities.

You can still apply to study in Germany.

So far, participation in state final examinations, which is mandatory for middle education in Ukraine, was voluntary due to the corona pandemic, but it remained mandatory for prospective students even during the pandemic.

Schooling in Ukraine ends after the 11th grade.

Heike Schmoll

Political correspondent in Berlin, responsible for “Bildungswelten”.

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According to Karin Prien (CDU), President of the Conference of Ministers of Education and Minister for Education, Science and Culture of the State of Schleswig-Holstein, the schoolchildren affected should not suffer any disadvantages as a result of the war.

She expects up to 400,000 students from Ukraine and 24,000 additional teachers to be needed.

The Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs offers a plausibility check procedure that has been in place since 2015 for applicants who are unable to provide proof of the higher education entrance qualification acquired in their home country due to their flight.

In principle, it is open to all refugees who cannot show their educational certificates or can only show incomplete ones.

Students should have it easy too

The ministers also want to accommodate students from Ukraine in their first year of study.

Even if this cannot be completed, it is still possible to study at a German university.

In principle, with the Ukrainian secondary school certificate II, access to higher education in Germany is possible via the preparatory college.

Prospective students with academic achievements apply directly to a German university.

Access to higher education is also made easier by the fact that Ukraine has been part of the European Higher Education Area since 2005 and introduced the tiered study structure, i.e. the Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees.

Educational certificates obtained in Germany in the Crimea and in the eastern Ukrainian separatist areas that were issued by the Russian side are not recognized.