KYIV, June 3 – President Volodymyr Zelenskiy met with heads of leading Ukrainian universities on Wednesday to seek ways of increasing their financial independence and raising salaries for teachers and professors.

This was the first such meeting over the past 15 years and comes to underscore Zelenskiy’s plan to improve the country’s college system amid lack of teachers and professors.

"If we do not seek a solution together, the staff shortage in the country will remain. The state should solve this problem together with higher education," Zelenskiy said.