Ukrainian education minister asks foreign counterparts to allow Ukrainian students of draft age to study online or grant them yearlong leave

MOSCOW. Nov 1 (Interfax) - Ukrainian Education and Science Minister Sergei Shkarlet has asked his foreign counterparts to allow Ukrainian students of draft age to study online or grant them a yearlong pause in their studies.

"As martial law legal regulations have been imposed in Ukrainian territory since February 24, 2022, Ukrainian male students cannot travel abroad, in line with the law. Considering this, I have addressed my foreign counterparts, education ministers, to enable Ukrainian students of draft age admitted to study in the 2022-2023 academic year and more senior students to study online or grant them a yearlong leave, preserving the financial terms on which they are receiving their education," Ukrainian media quoted Shkarlet as saying on his social account.

The Polish education and science minister has asked the administrations of local universities and colleges to allow students from Ukraine to study using remote methods and technology or grant them academic leaves upon request, he said.

The French minister of higher education and research has urged French universities and colleges to grant students from Ukraine a yearlong pause in their studies while preserving their financial terms and contributions made earlier or consider a possibility for them to study online, he said.

Shkarlet said the German federal government and colleges have also granted his request on extending the period of studies for Ukrainian citizens and taking an individual approach to each of them.

Shkarlet said he also received support from his counterparts from Lithuania, Denmark, and Azerbaijan. "Letters on supporting Ukrainian students and facilitating their studies, particularly in a remote format, have also come from Estonia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Canada, China, North Macedonia, and Switzerland," Shkarlet said.