Vocational education institutions gain more autonomy and opportunities for development

The Swiss-Ukrainian DECIDE Project supports the implementation of a pilot project by the Ministry of Education and Science and the Government in the development and piloting of a new model for the management and funding of vocational education institutions.

Three vocational education institutions in Zhytomyrska community finished the legal phase of their reorganisation and became municipal non-profit organisations. They are the first participants in the pilot project of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, which was launched in December 2025.

These are:

  • Municipal Non-Profit Organisation “Zhytomyr Vocational College of Technical Innovations”;
  • Zhytomyr Vocational College of Service and Design;
  • Zhytomyr Vocational College of Beauty and Technology.

The transition of vocational education institutions to the status of municipal non-profit organisations is provided for under the Law of Ukraine “On Vocational Education”. This new status grants the institutions greater financial and managerial autonomy and creates additional opportunities for their development.

What does this mean for the institutions?

  • greater flexibility in managing their own finances;
  • the ability to independently formulate staffing policies and determine the list of positions;
  • the ability to allocate funds earned to the development of their material and technical infrastructure;
  • more opportunities to improve the quality of educational services.

The experience of the first participants in the pilot project will help to develop a roadmap for the transition to the municipal non-profit organisation and recommendations for other vocational education institutions. The Ministry of Education and Science clarifies that this experience will help not only to draw up recommendations, but also to develop a specific roadmap for the transition.

By 1 September 2027, state and municipal vocational education institutions with more than 400 students must become non-profit organisations.

The next stage of the pilot project will involve testing the methodology for calculating the cost of educational services in vocational education institutions that have already acquired municipal non-profit organisation status.

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