Polish authorities had removed all Ukrainian teachers and chairs from the University of Lviv and excluded higher education to citizens of Poland or the Allies in 1919, additionally banning Ukrainian-language courses the next year.

The latter measure prompted a group of Ukrainian intellectuals in Lviv (then Lwów) to begin teaching clandestine courses in the humanities, law, and medicine.

It received support from the Shevchenko Society, the Lviv chapter of Prosvita, the Lwów Ecclesiastical Museum, St. George's Cathedral, and Ridna Shkola [uk], as well as members of the Ukrainian diaspora.

[3] Contrary to its name, the Secret Ukrainian University operated openly and in defiance of Polish authorities.

Ultimately, the proposals to reestablish Ukrainian-language education in Poland were rejected,[3] owing to the Polish government's desire to strengthen the Polish character of Lviv,[5] and the Secret Ukrainian University was forced to close at the end of 1925.