Nowadays, many communities strive to keep their own lyceum at any cost, even if the number of prospective senior students is expected to be minimal (a “low-enrolled” lyceum). This desire is easy to understand, as the lyceum is seen, to a certain extent, as a symbol of the traditions and self-sufficiency of the community.
However, the reform of specialised senior secondary education is not about the number of lyceums on the map, it is about the number of opportunities available to each child and their individual educational trajectory. This criterion, in particular, needs to be the deciding factor when making decisions about the network of comprehensive secondary education institutions.
There are, of course, communities where lyceums have to be retained regardless of the number of students. These are, primarily, mountainous territories, territories close to the combat zone, and remote localities where there is no (or very limited) possibility of transporting children or accommodating them in boarding facilities at academic lyceums.
At the same time, some founders of general secondary education institutions who are planning lyceums with a minimum number of senior students are simply afraid to take decisions they consider “unpopular” and prefer to keep “everything as it was”.
However, such communities should honestly answer the most important question: “For whom (or for what) are we creating (or continuing to run) a lyceum, and will it become a modern space where children are free to make conscious choices for a successful future?”
Let us consider what needs to be taken into account to provide a well-reasoned answer.
A specialised senior secondary school is not just Grades 10–12. Legislation stipulates that specialised secondary education (Grades 10–12) at a lyceum is delivered through individualised educational trajectories, based on the student’s choice of: a study profile (from those offered by the lyceum), which includes compulsory educational components at both the core and advanced levels; optional educational components within the relevant profile; and optional educational components outside the relevant profile.
The Article 32 of the Law of Ukraine “On Comprehensive General Secondary Education” stipulates that a lyceum must operate two classes per grade level, with the provision of comprehensive general secondary education in at least three specialisations.
Moreover, in line with the Regulations on Lyceums, approved by Resolution No. 82 of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated 11 October 2021 (as amended), in order to ensure equal access to quality education, enable individualised learning trajectory and meet students’ educational needs, the study profiles at the lyceum within the territory of a single community must provide for in-depth study of subjects (integrated courses) in one or more related educational fields: mathematics, natural sciences, technology, and computer science – for the first profile; language and literature – for the second profile, and other fields of study specified by the State Standard for Specialised Secondary Education, – for the third profile.
To what extent can this be effectively implemented in an “low-enrolled” lyceum? Let us imagine a lyceum into which 35 students enrol in Grade 10 (Note: in some communities, there will not even be that many). Formally, this is sufficient to open two classes and meet the minimum legal requirements for profiles. But the children’s actual educational needs and preferences may be quite different. Some students dream of becoming lawyers (roughly 8 pupils), others – psychologists (7) or doctors (4); some plan to study foreign languages (5), whilst others want to study computer science (9) or international relations and economics (2). Each choice is logical and justified (in fact, these were the specialisms most frequently chosen by last year’s graduates). Basically, there is a demand for the organisation of profiles that belong to three different clusters.
However, a certain minimum number of students (currently 8) is required to set up a profile group. This means that, in this case, the language and literature cluster profile cannot be organised, and in order to provide profiles for other clusters, a compromise will have to be found – which may not always be possible. As a result, the children will have to study a profile that they had not planned to choose.
Moreover, if a profile group is formed with the minimum required number of students, and during or upon completion of Grade 10 the child wishes to change their profile (which is permitted during the profile-adaptation cycle) or leaves the lyceum for any reason, then the relevant specialised group will be at risk of closure.
Consequently, freedom of choice will exist only on paper; the individual learning trajectory will become a mere formality, whilst in reality senior school students will be forced to adapt to the organisational capabilities of the lyceum.
A small number of students automatically gives rise to a number of other problems, the most important of which is staffing for the educational process.
The organisation of specialised education requires teachers from different subject areas who are capable of teaching both compulsory and specialised subjects at an advanced level. At the same time, rural communities, where the establishment of “low-enrolled” academic lyceums is most frequently planned, are already experiencing the greatest shortage of teaching staff, particularly teachers of foreign languages, mathematics, physics, chemistry, and computer science.
At present, many educational institutions are forced to address this problem by having teachers from “related” subject areas teach these subjects. Whilst this approach may still be regarded as a temporary, necessary solution for primary schools, for specialised senior secondary schools it contradicts the very idea of specialisation.
Specialised education is designed to ensure in-depth study of specific subjects and to prepare students for further education or professional activity, and therefore requires a high level of subject specialisation among teachers. Replacing specialist teaching with “compromise” staffing solutions will inevitably lead to a decline in the quality of education and a narrowing of the real choices available to students.
It is also worth considering that not all teachers currently working in general secondary education institutions will be willing, ready or able to work in a lyceum. Specialised education requires a different level of pedagogical training, competencies and skills in motivating students, as well as the use of more complex educational programmes and technologies.
Recruiting teachers to work in “low-enrolled” academic lyceums (where there is a shortage of teachers) will also pose a serious problem. Due to the small number of students and the limited number of teaching hours, teachers will often be unable to achieve a sufficient teaching load. Given that the education subsidy is calculated based on the number of students rather than the number of teaching hours required, the founder will have limited financial resources to create competitive working conditions. As a result, the most qualified specialists will prefer larger lyceums with a stable teaching load, opportunities for professional development, and higher salaries.
Besides, in a large lyceum, staffing risks are diversified. If one teacher resigns or retires, they can be temporarily replaced by colleagues, or the educational institution is more likely to attract a new specialist thanks to the full teaching load.
In “low-enrolled” lyceums, however, one teacher is often the only one specialising in a particular subject, so losing them could mean that it is no longer possible to continue specialised education in that profile.
It is also worth understanding that a lyceum providing a comprehensive general secondary education with an academic focus is not just a set of classrooms. It comprises teaching rooms equipped in line with the approved list, STEM laboratories, multimedia centres and digital spaces, each of which has specific requirements for the layout of the space and a list of essential equipment.
The creation of a safe, inclusive, and digital learning environment at the lyceum, and ensuring that its material and technical infrastructure complies with the licensing requirements, in line with the aforementioned Article 32 of the Law of Ukraine “On Comprehensive General Secondary Education”, is the responsibility of the founder, that is, the relevant local authority. By no means do all communities have the necessary resources.
The state subsidy for creating a modern educational environment is an important form of support, but one has to realise that it cannot be used to ensure an equally high standard of facilities across a large number of “low-enrolled” lyceums. Moreover, investing significant funds in the infrastructure of an educational institution where, in a couple of years’ time, there will essentially be no one left to study in the senior school is economically unjustifiable for both the community and the state, particularly if there are other ways of ensuring children have access to a better educational environment.
There is another important aspect to this problem. One of the core ideas behind the reform is to help students make a conscious choice about their future profession by bringing senior secondary school closer to higher education (in the case of academic lyceums), in particular through partnerships with universities, research institutions, businesses, and employers. It is much easier to realise such opportunities in large lyceums, where a sufficient number of specialised groups are formed and there is demand for a variety of educational programmes, as opposed to “low-enrolled” lyceums.
The aforementioned is by no means an exhaustive list of the problems and challenges that communities establishing academic lyceums with a minimum number of senior secondary students may face.
Naturally, if a community has all the necessary resources to ensure the functioning of such a lyceum and is prepared to fund it from its own resources, it may take the relevant decision.
However, if a community cannot provide a wide range of study profiles, a modern educational environment, qualified teachers, and the stable functioning of the lyceum, and does not have sufficient justification for the exceptional nature of the situation, then in such a case it is worth considering inter-municipal cooperation, the establishment (and ensuring the functioning) of joint lyceums, and the pooling of resources from several communities.
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