Last week, 16 Ukrainian communities received advisory support from DECIDE Project expert teams

Our team of experts – Yurii Orel, Olena Hulenko and Alla Bondar – held public discussions with communities in Kyiv region: Boryspilska, Tarashchanska, Myronivska, and Prystolychna communities, as well as in Cherkasy region: Korsun-Shevchenkivska, Horodyshchenska, Steblivska, Nabutivska, Mliivska, and Stepanetska communities. At the same time, the second expert team – Yana Brusentsova, Olha Khomenko and Olena Stepko – held meetings with communities in Kharkiv region: Malodanylivska, Rohanska, Savynska communities of Izium district, Kunievska, Bohodukhivska, and Liubotynska communities.

Together with local government officials, educators, parents, and students, they discussed why creating a network of educational institutions in the community that complies with Ukrainian legislation is a key condition for improving the quality of education. In particular, the participants discussed:

• the changes that will be introduced for lyceums from 1 September 2027;

• the tasks facing communities in the process of transforming the educational network and the results expected from the reform;

• what is necessary for the re-profiling of general secondary education institutions;

• how to approach the process of organising inter-municipal cooperation between communities;

• what the optimal educational trajectory for ninth-grade students should be;

• how schools and communities can properly communicate reorganisation changes to teachers, parents, and students.

Practical examples of solutions are already being developed locally. For example, at the community level in the former Korsun-Shevchenkivskyi district of Cherkasy region (Steblivska and Nabutivska communities), due to insufficient student numbers, a model for creating and jointly maintaining a single academic lyceum based in Korsun-Shevchenkivska community is being considered. During consultations, the experts provided recommendations on organising student transportation, equipping the lyceum, studying the opinions of parents, teachers, and students on educational profiles, and obtaining subsidies for lyceum equipment.

Stepanetska community in Cherkasy region, which is also in the process of making difficult management decisions on changing the network of educational institutions, turned to DECIDE Project experts seeking useful advice. According to Valentyna Kotliar, Head of the Education, Youth and Sports Department of the Stepanetska Village Council, the community plans to join forces with its neighbours to create an academic lyceum in order to provide high school students with quality education with well-equipped classrooms and qualified teachers. ‘Experts recommended communicating information to students and parents step by step and in an accessible manner, as they need to understand how these changes will affect them and what options they will have for further education. Any misunderstandings or conflicts usually arise due to insufficient communication,’ says Valentyna Kotliar.

Iurii Yovbak, Principal of the Shchaslyvskyi Academic Lyceum in Prystolychna community in Kyiv region, also shared his impressions, ‘After the event, I had the opportunity to talk personally with many students. The phrase I heard most often was, “Finally, we have everything explained to us, and it is not so scary anymore.” The children left with the understanding that the reform is not a threat, but an opportunity to receive a high-quality, competitive education without tutors. My conclusion as a principal is simple: the world is changing, and education must change even faster. We are not waiting for 2027 – we are preparing now and will start in September 2026 together with other schools in the senior profile pilot programme. We would like to thank DECIDE for their professionalism and the residents of our community for their concern.’

Despite the difficult security situation, frontline and de-occupied communities in Kharkiv region, including Savynska, are also moving forward with the formation of a new secondary school. An underground school is planned to open here in March, with the possibility of creating an academic lyceum. The community is also working on a model of inter-municipal cooperation involving schoolchildren from the neighbouring Kunievska community and has expressed its desire to join the second stage of piloting the reform of specialised secondary schools in lyceums.

‘The experts provided professional assistance, which we really needed, and explained how to avoid mistakes when planning changes at the community level, taking into account the requirements of current legislation. They emphasised that all transformations should be as open and understandable as possible for everyone, including students. After all, children want to learn in an interesting and meaningful way, to benefit from their education, and not to feel overwhelmed by an excessive number of subjects,’ summarised Oksana Suprun, Head of the Savyntsi Settlement Military Administration.

If your community needs expert consultation adapted specifically to your needs, please leave a request at this link. We will contact you to arrange a convenient time and format for the meeting.

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