In the author’s view, it is necessary to increase the efficiency of public procurement management at the level, in this case, of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. It is enough to analyze the use of the state order for HEIs for two or three years. On the basis of this analysis, to block the receipt of state orders for specific specialties by those HEIs that is not able to provide a full-fledged filling of the academic group according to the formula «budget+contract». If the HEI has an authority in society in the field of training specialists in a particular specialty, then its academic groups will be filled with contract students.

This is especially true of specialties for which it is impossible to train a quality specialist without a modern laboratory base. It is not possible or effective to finance the renewal of such a base for all HEIs, so their specialization is the first step towards improving the quality of training of specialists with higher education.

This approach will make it possible to ensure in three or four years the specialization of HEIs in specific specialties, which will be the objective foundation for:

• optimization of the network of HEIs of Ukraine;
• financing the renewal of the laboratory base of specialized HEIs.

In general, the synergetic effect in improving the quality of education can only give a comprehensive improvement of the rules of admission to HEIs, the system of state procurement for specialists with higher education and the system of strong material incentives needed by the state specialists. Real progress in this direction can be provided within 5–6 years.