The Supreme Court, as part of the Administrative Court of Cassation, has issued a precedent-setting decision on the interpretation of the sequence of obtaining higher education. The court concluded that a student who has not completed a bachelor's degree and received a diploma has the right to continue his studies at the same level and specialty at another university - and this is not considered a repeated acquisition of higher education.
The decision was issued in case No. 200/5372/24 and is final.
What happened
The student had been studying Management at the Donetsk State University of Management since 2012, but was expelled from the third year on April 1, 2015. He did not receive a higher education certificate.
In 2022, he was enrolled in the third year of the same specialty at another university, Donbas State Pedagogical University. However, in June 2024, the EDEBO certificate for deferment from conscription noted that the student was allegedly violating the "sequence of obtaining education."
This gave the Ministry of Education and Science reason to consider the study as a repeated bachelor's degree.
Legal position of the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court established:
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Obtaining the first (bachelor's) level of education begins from the moment of enrollment and ends only after the award of the diploma;
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if a diploma has not been received, the student is not considered to have already obtained a higher education;
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renewal or re-entry into the same course and major at another institution is not a repeated acquisition of education, even if many years have passed;
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This situation does not violate the sequence of obtaining education within the meaning of Article 10 of the Law "On Education".
What did the court decide?
Supreme Court:
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recognized the actions of the Ministry of Education and Science as unlawful;
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obliged to generate a new EDEBO certificate with the status: "Yes, does not violate";
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collected UAH 4,360.32 in legal costs from the Ministry of Education and Science in favor of the student.
The decision is final and cannot be appealed.
