How can communities prepare for specialised senior school reform? In Chernihiv region, education leaders sought answers together with DECIDE experts

March 9, 2026

In February, heads of education authorities and their deputies from communities in Chernihiv region underwent a special professional development programme entitled ‘Reform of Specialised Senior Secondary School’.

The training lasted from 17 to 24 February in a remote format, and on 27 February, an in-person seminar and workshop was held in Chernihiv, bringing together community representatives, experts, and regional authorities for an open professional discussion on the future of education in the region.

Participants focused on key issues of reform implementation, including:

regulatory support for educational institutions;
development of a data-driven, effective network of academic lyceums;
integration of the reform into community strategic planning;
funding for the development of lyceums;
creation of a career guidance system for children and adolescents;
implementation of national and regional policies in specialised secondary education.

58 heads of local education departments successfully completed the training and were awarded certificates, whilst 68 managers and education leaders from the region attended the workshop.

During the in-person meeting, communities, DECIDE Project experts and representatives of the Chernihiv Regional Military Administration engaged in a lively dialogue.

Valentyna Poltorak, DECIDE Project Manager, presented opportunities for collaboration to the communities and outlined the key areas of support for the region, ‘The reform of specialised senior secondary schools opens up new opportunities for communities – to establish strong academic lyceums, provide greater freedom in choosing an educational pathway, and link education to the real needs of the economy. Our task is to help communities with planning the network, holding public consultations, developing partnerships with neighbouring communities, and building a career guidance system at the basic school level.’

Yurii Muzyka, Head of the Department of Education and Science at the Chernihiv Regional State Administration, outlined the current state of the educational network in the region and highlighted the key challenges: demographic changes, the need to optimise the network of lyceums, the development of a school transport system, staffing, and the modernisation of educational infrastructure.

Serhii Yatskovskyi, Project Coordinator, and the expert group working specifically with Chernihiv region – Yurii Orel, Alla Bondar, and Olena Hulenko – presented communities with practical tools for making management decisions, taking into account demographic, financial, and spatial data, transport accessibility, and the capacity of educational institutions.

Special attention was paid to the career guidance system. Project experts Nadiia Balabust and Kateryna Nemyrovska described approaches to establishing career guidance hubs, collaboration between schools and the business sector, and the role of communities in helping students make informed choices about their educational and career paths.

The programme included study visits to educational institutions in Chernihiv, where participants saw practical examples of the transformation of the educational environment:

Career Guidance Hub at the Chernihiv Vocational Lyceum of Railway Transport, established with the support of DECIDE Project (guided by its principal Maksym Podzharyi);
Chernihiv Lyceum No. 22, where participants were introduced to the work of the separate lyceum. Principal Liudmyla Verba shared her experience and the path her institution has taken;
Chernihiv Gymnasium No. 13, where participants visited the modernised educational spaces, kitchen unit, modern bomb shelter, and educational centre.

Vasyl Bilohura, Head of the Education Department at Chernihiv City Council, shared his experience; he was one of the first to transform the local school network and establish four separate lyceums.

The training was an important step towards strengthening the administrative capacity of communities and preparing for the implementation of the specialised secondary school reform – a reform designed to give Ukrainian teenagers more opportunities to make informed choices about their future.

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