Reform of specialized secondary education: the results of the analytical phase of the Strategy development are summed up
Work continues on the development of the Strategy for the reform of specialized secondary education. On April 9, the results of the first analytical phase were discussed, during which the prerequisites for the implementation of the reform were investigated.
The event was held at the initiative of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and expert support of the DECIDE Swiss-Ukrainian Project: Decentralization for the Development of Democratic Education.
The introduction of specialized secondary education involves the creation of a network of specialized secondary education institutions, the updating of educational infrastructure, the development of a new modern content of education, and the introduction of a new model for the organization of the educational process to strengthen human resources. Work on the analytical phase of strategy development lasted 8 months. More than 400 educational experts took part in expert sessions, including heads of educational management bodies, educators, heads of territorial communities, international projects and programs, and non-governmental organizations. The discussion also involved the Ministry of Development of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine and deputies of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Education, Science and Innovation and the Verkhovna Rada Committee on the Organization of State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Planning.
The following results were presented at the event:
a comprehensive study of the prerequisites for the development of specialized secondary education in Ukraine, which covers the issues of human resources, content and quality of education, financing and educational infrastructure;
predictive estimation of the number, gender and age structure of the population;
approaches to the formation of a promising network of academic lyceums and professional colleges.
In the second part of the event, the participants worked on the formation of the vision of specialized secondary education and the strategic goals of the reform.
«We are confident that decentralization is the key to Ukraine’s capacity to endure the reform. Because life starts with communities, and it is through decentralization that Switzerland supports education reform during the war. We support all efforts aimed at improving education and ensuring that the educational process is of high quality», Andreas Huber, Director of the Cooperation Program of the Swiss Embassy in Ukraine, stressed that even during the war it is necessary to talk about the future, recalled Switzerland’s support for Ukraine since 2009, assistance in rebuilding shelters in schools and the recently opened underground school in Kharkiv, and stressed the close link between decentralization and education reforms.
«Despite all the challenges of the war and economic difficulties, we understand that we may not have another, more favourable time to implement the reform. Students who are now in the 6th grade will go to the 10th grade of the New Ukrainian School in 2027, no matter what. And our task is for them to go to a modern school, where they will be interested in learning and developing», – Valentina Poltorak, DECIDE Project Manager, stressed that the creation of high-quality and affordable specialized secondary education can contribute to the return of children from abroad.
«If we create all the necessary prerequisites for the development of specialized secondary education in a timely and qualitative manner, this will provide an opportunity to lay the foundations for the restoration of our country. And we are sure that together we will find a solution for each child that will allow them to stay in Ukraine and build their future here», – Valentyna Poltorak said.
«We need to plan everything so that the network can withstand the peak load, but also to take into account that there will be a further decline in the number of students, and we do not yet see its completion», Dmytro Zavhorodniy, Deputy Minister of Education and Science said.
«Therefore, we will focus on improving the quality of training for students from rural areas. Our primary task is to build a high-quality network of lyceums for students», – Dmytro Zavhorodnyi said.
Dmytro Livch, Partner of CIVITTA, presented a comprehensive study of the prerequisites for the implementation of specialized secondary education in Ukraine. The purpose of the study was to analyze the current quantitative composition of pupils, the network and funding of Institutions of General Secondary Education (IGSE), Institutions of Professional (Vocational and Technical) Education (IP(VT)E), and Institutions of Vocational Pre-Higher Education (IVPHE) and to study international experience to develop solutions for the program part of the strategy.
An important part of the analytical phase of the development of the Strategy for the implementation of the reform of specialized secondary education is the Project ed assessment of the number, gender and age structure of the population of Ukraine. It is important for the adoption of balanced policies for the reorganization of the network of lyceums.
The next phase in the development of the Strategy for the implementation of the reform of specialized secondary education will begin with public discussions in the regions of Ukraine. At the events to be held over the next two months, it is planned to present the results of the analytical stage of the development of the Strategy, demographic forecast and options for reform implementation policies.