DECIDE and Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine complete a training programme for community leaders and their deputies on implementation of specialised secondary education reform!

The concluding workshop ‘Reform of Specialised Senior Secondary Schools: Opportunities and Challenges for Communities’ was held on 25 March in Odesa. The event brought together mayors and responsible deputies from 52 communities in Odesa region.

The training programme also included an online component.

Special attention was paid to integrating the reform into communities’ strategic planning, and to approaches to planning the network of academic lyceums in strategic documents.

The participants also discussed the financing of the educational network’s development and the potential for securing external funding to modernise the educational infrastructure.

The event concluded the professional development programme, which had been running since 18 March.

The implementation of the reform was discussed with:

• Nadiia Kuzmychova, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine;

• Valentyna Poltorak, DECIDE Project Manager;

• Anton Shalyhailo, Deputy Head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration;

• Oleksandr Lonchak, Director of the Department of Education and Science of the Odesa Regional Military Administration;

• DECIDE Project experts: Serhii Yatskovskyi, Pavlo Ostapenko, Yana Brusnetsova, Olha Khomenko, Olena Stepko, Nadiia Balabust, Kateryna Nemyrovska;

• Anna Morenko, Coordinator of the Educational Environment Division at the NUS Implementation Office.

The meeting was held in the format of an open dialogue. The participants discussed the key challenges of implementing the reform at the local level and the role of communities in establishing a capable network of lyceums.

The following topics were discussed during the training:

• legal framework for the operation of the network of educational institutions;

• approaches to establishing a capable network of lyceums and data-driven management decision-making;

• funding for the network of academic lyceums;

• allocation of subsidies for the education sector in 2026 and the creation of a modern educational environment;

• establishment of a career guidance system for children and adolescents as a prerequisite for implementing the reform.

The key issues raised by community leaders included ensuring the accessibility of lyceums, taking into account the state of road infrastructure, and the technical condition of school transport.

Particular attention was paid to ensuring that current ninth-grade students complete their full general secondary education. In particular, the participants discussed the adoption by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of Draft Law No. 15082 dated 16 March 2026 and the vision of the Ministry of Education and Science on possible ways to implement it if adopted. The Draft Law has raised concerns among communities that have already prepared for the implementation of the reform.

• Other important topics included addressing the educational gaps among students who will be enrolled in academic lyceums with varying levels of preparation following the completion of basic secondary education in 2027.

• The participants also discussed the mechanisms for cooperation between neighbouring communities located in different regions.

During the workshop, the participants visited the Avanhardivskyi Lyceum of the Avanhard Settlement Council, where they learnt about the practical experience of establishing a modern academic lyceum. Particular attention was paid to the process of transforming the school network and to the administrative decisions that enable the educational network to be adapted to the needs of the community and the schoolchildren. We would like to thank the community leader, Serhii Khrustovskyi, and the Head of the Education Department, Iryna Solotynska.

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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