Education system not ready for implementation of senior specialized school reform - Lubinets

Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets believes that the Ukrainian education system is not ready to implement the senior specialized school reform within the New Ukrainian School (NUS) framework.

"The critical problem is the senior school reform. The system is not ready for its implementation. I receive a significant number of appeals regarding objections to the liquidation of schools, the lack of transport, the condition of roads, and the factual inaccessibility of education in frontline, de-occupied, and mountainous communities," Lubinets wrote on Telegram following a meeting with Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Oksen Lisovyi.

He emphasized that launching a reform that will effectively lead to the closure of schools without a prepared system under wartime conditions is "simply a mockery of Ukrainian children and education."

Furthermore, the ombudsman criticized the system of school preparation for the National Multi-Subject Test (NMT); the organization of the NMT itself, particularly the failure to ensure testing is conducted in shelters; and the information campaign for applicants from the temporarily occupied territories.

As reported, in September 2017, the Verkhovna Rada introduced 12-year school education starting from 2027.

The piloting of the senior specialized school reform began on September 1, 2025, involving the testing of new teaching approaches, course development, and testing of educational materials. This served as the first step toward implementing the new State Standard for specialized secondary education and preparing for the transition to a 12-year system. Thirty lyceums from 19 regions implemented a model where students choose profiles and subjects.

The second stage of the senior school reform pilot starts on September 1, 2026, during which 150 pilot educational institutions will test the updated content and structure of education in grades 10-12.

Starting September 1, 2027, 10th-grade classes will begin studying in specialized schools. The first 12th-grade graduations are expected in the spring and summer of 2030, followed by a transformation of the educational institution network between 2030 and 2033, depending on the demographic situation and initial reform results.

At the end of March, the Ministry of Education reported that nearly 90% of communities in Ukraine had already formed academic lyceum networks or were in the final stages of doing so.

Education Ombudsman Nadiia Leshchyk supports the NUS reform and states that its postponement would have negative consequences for the state. At the same time, she noted that problems with implementing senior specialized schools include difficulties in transporting children and teachers to educational institutions and the lack of living conditions for children where transportation is impossible.

According to the sociological study "Awareness and Attitude of Parents of Students toward the Reform of Specialized Secondary Education in Ukraine," 45% of parents support the NUS senior specialized school reform, while nearly 32% do not.