Expert teams of DECIDE continue to work in communities across Ukraine to make the reform of specialised secondary education successful

Currently, within the framework of DECIDE project, four teams of experts are providing consultation to communities across four macro-regions: since March, the experts have held 263 in-person meetings and 382 online meetings in 567 communities in 22 regions of Ukraine – representing 40% of the communities in the country. As of October 2025, there had been over 300 such consultations, and since then their number has doubled.

Almost 13,000 participants – including representatives of local governments, teaching staff, and parents – have already joined the discussions to jointly implement the reform of specialised senior secondary school and establish modern, quality, and accessible education in their communities!

The discussions focused on the practical implementation of the reform of specialised senior school at both regional and community levels:

• modelling a capable network of academic lyceums;

• preparing communities for the transformation of the network of educational institutions;

• cooperation between communities;

• organising transport for students to lyceums, taking into account distances, the condition of road infrastructure and the availability of school transport;

• defining specific study profiles based on an analysis of the capabilities of communities and the interests of students;

• funding mechanisms and management decisions that founders must adopt today.

Experts provide recommendations tailored to the specific needs of each community, clarify the legal and organisational aspects of establishing or reorganising lyceums, and explain the choice between academic and vocational directions and the opportunities these offer to students. It is important for communities and parents to understand that these changes are not about a formal reorganisation of the school network, but about better educational opportunities for children and young people.

Meetings like these are an important part of the systematic work of the DECIDE Project. These discussions form the basis for the transition from fragmented solutions to a coherent system, where specialised senior education is competitive and focused on the needs of students.

The participants themselves describe the outcomes of these meetings.

‘Following consultations with experts, we received a clear plan of action: how to establish an optimal network of educational institutions by collaborating with neighbouring communities. We also discussed logistics, class sizes, and the effective use of resources in detail. This helps us move from discussions to practical management decisions,’ says Anatolii Bondar, Head of the Education Department at the Dmytrivka Settlement Council in Chernihiv region.

‘One of the key outcomes of the consultation was recognition of the importance of cooperation between communities. We see that only through cooperation will it be possible to provide quality specialised education for all children, including those from neighbouring areas. We also gained valuable insights from the recommendations on partnership with universities, as this opens up new opportunities for senior school students,’ says Nataliia Sereda, Principal of Varash Lyceum No. 1 in Rivne region.

‘It was important for our community to hear about practical case studies and the experiences of other regions. Thanks to the consultation, we now have a better understanding of how to develop a network of lyceums to create real specialisation. Following the meeting, we have already begun internal analysis, in particular to assess the economic situation in the region: which specialisations are in highest demand, and which specialists are already needed and will be in demand on the labour market,’ notes Ella Kachmaryk, Head of the Education Department at the Boryslav City Council in Lviv region.

Upon request, experts continue to provide consultative support to communities on establishing academic lyceums and forming an effective network of senior secondary schools. If you represent a community and would like to receive practical expert consultation, please fill out the application form via this link.

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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