Starting from October 1, 2026, students of all grades, from first to eleventh, will be able to receive free meals in schools in Ukraine. This initiative is expected to provide hot lunches to approximately 4.4 million students.
This is reported by Finway
“From October 1, 2026, free meals will be introduced for students in grades 1-11 in Ukraine”.
Education Funding and New Social Initiatives
Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko noted that the idea of introducing free meals was proposed back in August, but at that time, the issue of securing funding remained unresolved. Now, the draft budget for 2026 includes the necessary funds to implement this initiative.
Additionally, starting next year, the government plans to double scholarships for over 163,000 students in higher education institutions.
Increased Spending on Education and Science
The budget for 2026 allocates 265.4 billion hryvnias for educational needs, which is 66.5 billion more than the figure for 2025. A significant portion of these funds will be directed towards increasing the average salary of educators in two phases: by 30% starting January 1, 2026, and by an additional 20% starting September 1 of the same year.
For the development of science, 19.9 billion hryvnias will be allocated next year. This will support young scientists, leading research institutions, and will also promote the establishment of defense research centers and funding for developments commissioned by domestic businesses.