Public discussions on the reform of specialized secondary education are ongoing in the regions. On June 27, about 150 educators and managers gathered to discuss the peculiarities of reform implementation in the Odesa region. The event was organized by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine in partnership with the DECIDE Swiss-Ukrainian project which means Decentralization for the Development of Democratic Education and with the assistance of the Odesa Regional Military Administration (RMA).

The meeting was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science, the RMA, the Regional Administration (RA), the DECIDE Project, the heads of the District Military Administration (DMA), the heads of the Territorial Communities (TC), management bodies of education institutions, the heads of secondary, professional pre-higher and professional (vocational) education institutions.

For the successful implementation of the reform, it is necessary to create large academic lyceums that will be separated from primary and basic schools and accessible to all students, regardless of their place of residence in a large city or a small village. High school students will be able to select a training profile with comprehensive career advice training and integrated courses/subjects both inside and outside the profile to receive a great education here.

The event considered:

– prerequisites for the implementation of the reform of specialized secondary education;
– the essence of changes and innovations;
– questions about the founders of academic lyceums;
– possible conditions for the cooperation of territorial communities; and
– financing models.

For the successful implementation of changes, it is important to take into account the specifics of each region, discuss the goals of the reform and the peculiarities of its implementation, and receive proposals from communities for changes in legislation. Therefore, the main purpose of public discussions is to involve communities in the development of proposals for legislation and regulations, taking into account territorial features and possible exceptions.