The future of high school in the region was discussed in Zaporizhzhia
On 27 November, Zaporizhzhia hosted a public discussion of the reform of specialised secondary education. The event has brought together representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the Swiss-Ukrainian project DECIDE, managers in the field of education, heads of communities and Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration.
This reform is a particular challenge for Zaporizhzhia region: 71% of its territory remains temporarily occupied. Therefore, the meeting discussed in detail not only the concept of specialised secondary education, but also a variety of scenarios for its implementation, taking into account the region's security situation. Prior to the full-scale invasion, 496 schools had been operating in the region, of which 133 are now destroyed or damaged.
74% of the participants indicated that the essence of the reform of specialised secondary education had become clearer as a result of the public discussion. 61% of them plan to have an academic lyceum in their community, and another 7% would like to have a regional lyceum in their community.
Nadiya Kuzmychova, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, stressed that public discussions are an important platform for a dialogue between central government, local authorities, educational managers and school principals.
Despite all the challenges of the war, special attention is being paid to education in Zaporizhzhia region. This was emphasised by Valentyna Poltorak, DECIDE Project Manager.
“About 90% of high school students and 85% of parents in the region support the idea of free choice of subjects in high school. In order to ensure the high quality organisation of specialised education, Project experts are actively working on a strategy and a detailed roadmap for the reform at the request of the Ministry of Education and Science. For Zaporizhzhia region, as well as for Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the reform strategy will take into account the challenges of the war. Today, the regional authorities are developing several scenarios and are doing everything possible to implement the most optimistic one,” said Valentyna Poltorak.
According to Mykhailo Siemikin, deputy head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration, it is important that the region continues to be an active part of reforms in education. Valentyna Yershova, director of the specialised boarding school ‘Sich Collegium’ in Zaporizhzhia, assured that she supports the reform. After all, the high school students are already choosing their own future.
Read more about the reform: profilna.mon.gov.ua