NMT in 2027 may change: applicants want to allow retaking and keep two mandatory subjects

This year's admission campaign is accompanied by a significant number of appeals from graduates, parents, and educators regarding the conduct of the National Multisubject Test. Among the main problems are the difficulty of taking the test during air raid alerts, the significant burden of taking four subjects in a row, limited opportunities to appeal results, and the lack of an additional chance for those who could not demonstrate their real level of knowledge. The Verkhovna Rada believes that the NMT system needs improvement to ensure equal and fair access conditions to higher education for all applicants.

Parliament called to improve the NMT procedure

The parliamentary committee on youth and sports stated the need to review certain aspects of the National Multisubject Test and proposed that the Ministry of Education and Science jointly develop changes to improve the admission testing system.

They note that numerous complaints from students, their parents, and representatives of the educational sector regarding problems arising during the NMT are received by members of parliament.

This concerns not only technical issues of test organization but also security challenges related to air raid alerts, as well as the psychological burden on graduates taking entrance exams amid a full-scale war.

The Rada emphasizes that such signals cannot be ignored, so they propose that the Ministry of Education and Science work together to eliminate problems and create fair and equal conditions for all applicants.

Which NMT shortcomings are proposed to be addressed

Primarily, certain technical elements of the test procedure require refinement.

In particular, deputies point out that taking four subjects over four consecutive hours is an extremely difficult challenge for applicants, especially under conditions of war and constant stress.

Additionally, parliament considers it unfair that an applicant has only one attempt to take the test per year. Committee members believe applicants should have the opportunity to use an additional chance to confirm their knowledge.

It is also proposed to review the appeals mechanism, which currently, according to the committee, does not provide sufficient protection of the rights of test participants.

Parliament supports allowing retaking the NMT during an additional session, which could become one of the mechanisms to ensure fairer evaluation of results.

Proposing a new NMT model from 2027

The parliamentary committee also proposes changing the structure of the National Multisubject Test starting next year.

Specifically, it is proposed to keep two mandatory subjects on the NMT — Ukrainian language and history of Ukraine.

The third subject should be profile-based and chosen depending on the applicant's future specialty. For future medical students, this could be biology; for applicants to technical specialties — mathematics; and for those planning to study philological fields — English language.

Committee representatives believe this approach will make testing more oriented toward the applicant's future profession and reduce the burden during the admission campaign.

Parliament warns against the growth of educational migration

The committee emphasizes that fairness during admission directly affects young people's decisions about further education.

They believe that if graduates do not feel equal conditions and trust in the evaluation system, more and more young people will choose to study abroad.

It is estimated that currently about 15% of Ukrainian students study outside Ukraine. Therefore, the state must seek solutions that encourage Ukrainian youth to remain studying in Ukrainian higher education institutions.

The Rada is convinced that to achieve this, it is necessary to unite the efforts of government bodies and the educational community and improve the NMT system considering the realities of wartime and applicants' needs.

As reported by the "Judicial and Legal Newspaper", after the announcement of the national multisubject test results, some participants continue to submit appeals regarding the results or report possible violations during the testing. In rare cases, such disputes reach court proceedings.

The Ukrainian Center for Educational Quality Assessment notes that the number of such appeals remains insignificant. Approximately ten NMT participants appeal to the court annually, while the total number of test takers exceeds 300,000.

Earlier it was reported that in Odesa region, an air raid alert disrupted the normal conduct of the NMT. Participants had to stay in shelters for almost 13 hours. It was noted that the Office of the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights in Odesa region received information about gross violations during the organization of testing at one examination center. In particular, it was noted that the premises where the NMT was conducted were practically unprepared for martial law conditions and regular air raid alerts.

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