Kyiv is facing a severe shortage of physics teachers
On August 15, it was reported that only two applicants had been admitted to physics teacher training programs in Kyiv, even though a total of 14 applications had been submitted to the capital’s two universities. This situation could exacerbate the shortage of teachers capable of teaching physics in schools.
This is according to data from the “Vstup.Osvita.ua” service and a TikTok video by Serhiy Yagodzinsky, Vice Rector for Academic and Methodological Affairs at the European University, Doctor of Philosophy, and professor.
Professor Serhiy Yagodzinsky stated: “And in Kyiv, only two people applied to become physics teachers—just two. And you’re telling us about educational reforms, about the New Ukrainian School, about quality, about everything. Two—just two people for physics, two.”
According to Yagodzinsky, the problem is linked, in particular, to the level of teachers’ pay.
“Any reform—any reform—starts with respect for people. And respect for people starts with respect for their pay. Otherwise, we’ll have two physics teachers and three chemistry teachers for the whole of Ukraine. That’s it. So much for educational reforms. They’ve run education into the ground. The main thing is that the New Ukrainian School (NUS) exists on paper,” the professor said.
According to the “Vstup.Osvita.ua” service, both applicants will study at the Mykhailo Dragomanov National University of Ukraine: one on a state-funded scholarship, the other on a tuition-paying basis.
In Kyiv, two universities train future physics teachers. In total, applicants submitted 14 applications for the relevant educational programs: 10 to the Mykhailo Dragomanov Ukrainian State University and four to the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.
The professor’s remarks sparked a lively discussion in the comments section below the video. Users, particularly teachers, discussed the reduction in physics class hours, workloads, salary levels, and the shortage of teaching staff.
Natasha, who identified herself as a physics teacher with nearly 32 years of experience, drew attention to the reduction in the number of physics class hours in schools.
“Our country’s defense capability lies in physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics,” she wrote. According to the teacher, at her school, 9th-grade physics classes have been reduced from three hours a week to two.
“That’s why having two or three physics teachers in Kyiv is actually too many,” she added.
Valeria, who identified herself as a history teacher with 15 years of experience, also highlighted issues with workload and pay. She said she no longer wants to work at a school.
“Just to get by, a teacher (has to—ed.) hold down two or three jobs. The number of duties, responsibilities, and workload is completely out of proportion to the salary,” she wrote.
At the same time, the comments also include accounts of a shortage of teachers. User Ziroha, who identified herself as a retired teacher, explained that she continues to work because there is essentially no one to replace her.
“I’m working because there’s no one else to do the job. The young people have left (and rightly so, because they have children!), and no one wants to work for 14,000. I’m not holding on; I’m ready to step aside, but there’s no one to take my place,” she wrote.
Sources: Vstup.Osvita.ua, Serhiy Yagodzinsky
Read also: Prospective students are flocking to management, psychology, and IT programs
On Saturday, August 1, at 6:00 p.m., the main phase of applications for admission to bachelor’s and medical master’s programs ended. This year, applicants submitted 1,189,960 applications to higher education institutions, marking the highest number in the past five years.
Applicants can expect a second round of admissions as part of the 2026 admissions campaign.
Earlier, the Ukrainian Center for Educational Quality Assessment commented on the situation in the Odesa region, where participants in the National Multidisciplinary Test spent nearly 13 hours at the testing center due to prolonged air raid alerts. According to the agency, graduates were offered the option to reschedule the exam for an additional session, but they refused and decided to wait until the testing was completed and take the NMT on the same day.
An alternative bill to change the format of the National Multisubject Test (NMT) has been registered in the Verkhovna Rada. The bill proposes reducing the number of subjects to be tested from four to three. In this case, mathematics would be an elective subject.
