From demographic forecasts to funding for lyceums: How DECIDE experts help communities get ready for reform of specialised senior secondary education
Should senior school classes be retained in the community or should a joint academic lyceum be established with a neighbouring community? How can a choice of study programmes be ensured, qualified teachers be found, student transportation be organised, and funding for the running of the educational institution be guaranteed?
Each of these questions presents a difficult choice. After all, communities need not only to decide which schools will become academic lyceums from 1 September 2027, but also to create the conditions under which senior school students can really choose an educational pathway in line with their interests and plans for the future.
Since March 2025, four teams of Swiss-Ukrainian DECIDE Project experts have been helping communities find answers to these questions.
During this time, consultation meetings have been held in 24 regions of Ukraine, covering 693 communities. That is already 56% of all the communities in the country! Over 15,000 participants have taken part in the consultations – representatives of local self-government, education authorities, teachers, and parents.
Work on the future network of lyceums begins long before decisions are taken by local councils. Experts analyse demographic forecasts, the number of future senior school students, staffing levels, the state of the educational infrastructure, and the financial capacity of communities. The mere existence of senior school classes does not, in itself, guarantee high-quality specialised education. It is important that the future lyceum can offer children a genuine choice, rather than merely meeting the formal requirements of its new status.
One of the most difficult challenges is striking a balance between the desire to keep a school in the local community and the ability to provide high-quality specialised education. Where there are insufficient student numbers or resources to establish a capable lyceum, experts help to explore alternatives, including cooperation with neighbouring communities. This involves not only the joint running of the institution, but also agreements on funding, student transportation, and the accessibility of education for every student.
However, even communities with similar population sizes may face vastly different circumstances. For some, demographic changes and a shortage of teachers are the key factors; for others, it is the distances between localities, the condition of roads or security risks. Planning the future network is particularly challenging in frontline communities, where security concerns and the forced displacement of families are added to the usual administrative issues.
Therefore, the task of DECIDE experts is not to propose a single model to all communities, but to help them assess their own capabilities, compare alternatives, and understand the consequences of each decision. It is important that changes are based not only on legislative requirements, but also on the real needs of children and the communities’ ability to provide for their education.
These decisions are not always popular and are rarely simple. However, postponing them means wasting the time needed to prepare for the reform.
The result of consultation work is measured not by the number of meetings held, but by the extent to which communities are ready to move from discussions to specific steps. The key here is not to preserve as many institutions bearing the name “lyceum” as possible, but to create a capable educational network that will ensure children have access to high-quality specialised education regardless of their place of residence.
If your community is also interested in receiving consultation from DECIDE experts, please submit an application via the link.
As previously reported, the future network of academic lyceums in Ukraine is already available to view on an interactive map created by experts from the Swiss-Ukrainian DECIDE Project at the request of, and in partnership with, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, in cooperation with regional departments of education and communities.
According to monitoring data from the NUS Office of the Ministry of Education and Science, as of September 2026, 1,156 communities had already approved their network plans, another 274 are working on developing or approving them. In total, the model currently in place provides for 2,074 academic lyceums.
Learn more about the future network of academic lyceums in your region and community on the reform website – https://profilna.mon.gov.ua/.
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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