On 25 November in Kyiv, the Polaris Programme, in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (MoES), held the conference “Quality Education – Effective Hromada”. The event brought together Government representatives, education department specialists from hromadas and oblasts, and representatives of national educational institutions.

In his opening remarks and presentation on the distribution of the education subvention for 2026, Andrii Stashkiv, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, outlined the ministry’s approaches to updating the funding model for school education:

“The central focus of the decisions we propose is an updated formula for the education subvention and a more transparent procedure for using funds. If the Resolution is adopted, the subvention will be allocated taking into account a revised class size formula, which is crucial for planning school networks in hromadas. In this context, we also foresee an increase in teachers’ salaries and the preservation of allowances. This will combine fairer resource distribution with more stable conditions for educators.”

Roman Yermolychev, First Deputy Minister of Finance of Ukraine, presented the key parameters of the Draft State Budget for 2026 in the education sector: UAH 274 billion is planned for education – UAH 75 billion more than in 2025, including UAH 190.5 billion for salaries.
“Despite all financial constraints, the Government has clearly defined education as one of the key priorities for next year. Yet along with funding, there is another critically important factor – the efficiency of spending public money. This is the constant message of the Ministry of Finance: every hryvnia must be translated into quality education, a safe learning environment, modern nutrition, improved infrastructure, and accessible opportunities for every child,” he emphasised.

The panel discussion “Non-Obvious Factors Shaping the Quality of Education”, moderated by Polaris education expert Serhiy Dyatlenko, focused on how decisions at both policy and hromada levels together shape real educational outcomes.

Commenting on MoES approaches, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Nadiia Kuzmychova highlighted: “The challenges we see in secondary education did not emerge overnight. They are the result of decisions postponed over previous years. This is why the MoES is working simultaneously on several policies: ‘Education for Life’ to reinforce the New Ukrainian School reform, especially at the basic level; preparation of the ‘Profile School’ reform; revision of the State Standard for primary education; renewal of the textbook system; modernisation of learning environments; and changes in teacher professional development through the ‘money follows the teacher’ model. Crucially, the ministry is not alone in these efforts. We see strong support from hromadas and highly appreciate when they are not afraid of change and make improvements without waiting for top-down instructions. And, of course, we appreciate the work of international partners who support MoES initiatives and strengthen hromada capacity.”

Anastasiia Konovalova, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, presented key findings of the recent study on early childhood education and the first insights into the implementation of the new Law on Preschool Education. Earlier, Polaris and MoES published the analytical report “Preschool Education in Ukraine Today: An Overview of Legislative, Institutional, and Budgetary Foundations from an International Perspective.”

Oleh Fasolia, Lead of the Polaris Programme’s “Education at the Local and Regional Levels” direction, presented how Polaris is systematically strengthening the education system in Ukraine at the national, regional, and local levels. This includes developing the dashboard of education indicators, analytical support for subvention distribution, assistance to 22 partner hromadas in managing school networks, and conducting the nationwide study of preschool education. Details are available in the following presentation.

During the conference, nine hromadas were announced as recipients of new STEM laboratories provided by the Polaris Programme. Polaris will continue offering practical assistance to partner hromadas, including educational equipment and other tools to strengthen school development.

In the second half of the day, participants worked across five thematic workshops: “Ensuring Equity in Education,” “The Hromada Educational Ecosystem: Strategic Vision,” “Monitoring Education Quality at the Hromada Level,” “Dashboard of Educational Indicators,” and “Unlocking Learners’ Success.” The workshops focused on inclusion and support for vulnerable groups, data-driven school network planning, building local systems for monitoring quality, using the digital dashboard, and supporting learner motivation in partnership with schools and parents.

At the close of the event, Susanna Dellans, Polaris Team Leader and SALAR International Representative in Ukraine, emphasised:“For many years, Sweden has supported Ukraine across key dimensions of education – from working with ministries on policy formation to strengthening the capacity of hromadas to analyse their needs, plan school networks, and make well-informed decisions, so that the education system works in a quality-driven, efficient, coherent, and predictable way. Optimising the school network enables better service quality and more rational use of available resources, ultimately strengthening the overall capacity of the hromada.”