DECIDE project team holds series of consultations with representatives of 11 communities in Chernihiv region

Communities are continuing to form a network to implement secondary education reform, and DECIDE Project experts are providing them with ongoing professional support.

In October, Alla Bondar, Olena Hulenko and Yurii Orel, experts on local self-government from the Swiss-Ukrainian DECIDE Project, held a series of consultations with representatives of 11 communities in Chernihiv region.

DECIDE experts visited Ivanivska, Kyinska, Mykhailo-Kotsiubynska, Novobilouska, Honcharivska and Desnianska communities in person, and held five online meetings with representatives of the Varvynska, Borznianska, Kholmynska, Talalaivska and Sribnianska communities.

During meetings with representatives of local authorities, education departments, schools and parent communities, the practical issues relating to the implementation of specialised secondary education reform in communities were discussed.

The consultations focused on modelling a network of academic lyceums, potential areas of cooperation between communities and management decisions that communities need to make today to provide quality educational services in the future.

The experts provided detailed recommendations, taking into account the specific characteristics of each community. They explained the legal and organisational nuances of establishing and reorganising lyceums and emphasised the importance of ongoing communication with every stakeholder in the educational process.

Preparations are underway in Chernihiv region for the implementation of specialised secondary education reform. Most communities are already well aware of the challenges involved in setting up an academic lyceum in their territory. These include issues related to the student body, material and technical resources, logistics, and human and financial resources. Consequently, there is a greater willingness to organise lyceums in cooperation with other communities.

As the founders of schools, communities have to make difficult decisions, but they all share a common goal: to provide a quality education for all pupils and enable them to choose their specialisms according to their interests and ambitions.

‘We are sincerely grateful to the DECIDE project experts for their advisory support. With their help, we have gained a deeper understanding of current legislation and identified and analysed ways to develop our community’s education network. It has been a valuable and important experience for us,’ said Nadiia Hurtovenko, Head of the Education Department at the Desnianska Settlement Council.

Despite all the difficulties, Chernihiv region is showing resilience and a willingness to drive change.

Consultative meetings in Chernihiv region form part of the DECIDE Project team’s extensive work supporting the implementation of specialised secondary education reform in communities. The Project has four expert teams that advise communities in four macro-regions of Ukraine. Since March 2025, 173 offline discussions and 188 online meetings have been held in 361 communities across 20 regions.

The DECIDE project is implemented by NGO DOCCU and PHZH International Projects in Education with the support of the Embassy of Switzerland in Ukraine.

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