How are communities getting ready for secondary school reform? Outcomes of DECIDE team’s work in four regions
- Apr 6
- 2 min read
Poltava, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernihiv, and Odesa regions hosted workshops on ‘Reform of Specialised Secondary Schools: Opportunities and Challenges for Communities’, bringing together community leaders, their specialised deputies, and heads of education departments and directorates.
Together with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the Poltava Regional State Administration, the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional State Administration, the Chernihiv Regional State Administration, the Odesa Regional State Administration, and experts from DECIDE Project, the participants discussed the key challenges of the reform and the next steps for its implementation.
This is not merely about training. It is about jointly seeking solutions that are already being implemented by communities.
The participants focused on key reform issues:
how to establish a capable network of lyceums;
how to ensure student transport, access to education, and the development of educational infrastructure;
how to work with the regulatory framework and take into account state policy in education;
how to take management decisions on transforming the network of educational institutions at the community level;
where to find financial resources for these changes;
how to integrate the reform into community development strategies;
how to develop an inclusive educational environment and work with children with special educational needs;
why career guidance for children and teenagers as well as pre-vocational training form the basis of a successful senior school.
The participants paid particular attention to practical aspects: study visits to lyceums, career guidance hubs and vocational education institutions helped them to understand how the solutions work in practice.
Key speakers of the event were:
Nadiia Kuzmychova, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine
Valentyna Poltorak, DECIDE Project Manager
We would like to thanks our partners: Yevhen Konchakovskyi, Zhanna Sherstiuk, Anton Shalyhaihailo, Nina Lemesh, Oleksandr Lonchak, Viktor Kimakovych, Yurii Muzyka, and Andrii Zalivskyi.
DECIDE Project experts: Serhii Yatskovskyi, Nadiia Balabust, Kateryna Nemyrovska, Larysa Zhabenko, Pavlo Ostapenko, Yurii Orel, Alla Bondar, and Olena Hulenko.
Antonina Makarevych, Deputy Head for Specialised Secondary Education at the Office for the Implementation of the New Ukrainian School (NUS) under the Ministry of Education and Science.
Together with the communities, they discussed not only policy but also specific management decisions that are complex but essential.
We believe that our training courses have become another step towards implementing a reform that will promote access to quality education, from formal learning to making informed choices about the future.
The DECIDE project is implemented by NGO DOCCU and PHZH International Projects in Education with the support of the Embassy of Switzerland in Ukraine.
To view the photo gallery, click on the photo.
