The amalgamated territorial community has to independently decide how to properly build up the educational network in its territory: to choose the pivotal school and attach smaller schools to it, think about the routes taking into account the roads.

It was said by Deputy Minister of Education and Science Pavlo Khobzei in his interview to the "Ukrainska Pravda" publication.

According to him, the amalgamated communities themselves have to propose an optimal network of educational establishments of the initial and basic level. The Ministry of Education and Science has just provided a conceptual approach. Thus, according to the governmental concept, children of the elementary school (1-4 grades) have to go to school as close to home as possible: there should arise an opportunity for the establishment of family schools, one-teacher-schools, etc. From the fifth grade (that is the beginning of the basic school), children have to continue their education in their pivotal school which may be at a longer distance from home. After the graduation of the pivotal (basic) school, children go to a specialist school (lyceum).

The Deputy Minister recalled that the state budget provides for UAH 200 million for the organisation of pivotal schools in the current year. “Moreover, there is an agreement with the USAID that they will choose one school in each region and will make it an exemplary school. But the point is not that manna will come down from Kyiv. The initiative is to be announced at the local level", Pavlo Khobzei noted.

According to him, the first outcomes of the establishment of pivotal schools are expected not earlier than in September. “The education gets along according to academic years rather than budgetary ones. Any changes in the network may take its rise only in April and start from September", Pavlo Khobzei explained.

Also, he informed that regional administrations rather than the Ministry of Education and Science held the competitive tender among schools for obtaining the status of a pivotal school. “We developed certain criteria in accordance with which the election should be done. But Ukraine is large, Polissia is one thing, steppe areas of Ukraine is another.  People living there know the context better. Therefore, we give freedom of choice and impose certain accountability for those things", Pavlo Khobzei said.

In this connection, he noted that the Ministry of Education and Science requested that the tender commission should include a representative of the Ministry, "so that we could see, become acquainted. Later, we will work with the headteachers of those pilot schools".

To see the presentation of the concept of pivotal schools as prepared by the Ministry of Education and Science please click HERE