The Ministry of Education and Science refused to lower the passing score for the NMT-2026: admission rules will remain unchanged

The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine did not support the initiative to lower the minimum competitive score for admission to higher education institutions in 2026. The corresponding decision was a reaction to the official appeal of the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets.

The Ministry of Education and Science emphasized that, despite the difficult conditions of taking the National Multi-Subject Test in wartime, they do not plan to change the established rules of the admission campaign. The department emphasizes: selection criteria should remain predictable, equal and fair for all applicants.

Among the key arguments of the ministry are the availability of additional NMT sessions for those who were unable to complete the testing due to air alarms or technical failures, as well as the gradual introduction of increased threshold scores, which is not an innovation this year.

Separately, the Ministry of Education emphasized the need to maintain high standards for medical specialties, because the quality of training of future doctors directly affects patient safety. In addition, the ministry warns: a decrease in the passing score for popular specialties may negatively affect the quality of competitive selection and trust in the higher education system as a whole.

According to the Ministry of Education, in 2025, the average competitive score for admission to the budget in the specialty “International Relations” was 174.34 points, and for “Political Science” – 172.89 points, which indicates a high level of competition.

As a reminder, the Ombudsman proposed to reduce the minimum passing score for the NMT-2026 from 150 to 130 points and restore the possibility of appealing incorrect test tasks. At the same time, the government also left the mandatory nature of mathematics in the testing structure unchanged, which was previously confirmed by Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.

The Ministry of Education notes: any adjustments to the admission rules are possible only after a comprehensive analysis of their consequences for the entire education system.