When the educational system of Ukraine will be identical to the EU system

Last week, Minister of Education Serhiy Shkarlet saidthat the strategic goal of the Ministry of Education and Culture is to “synchronize” the Ukrainian educational space with EU countries. This was discussed at the meeting of Serhii Shkarlet with the ministries of education of the Baltic countries, Poland and the Czech Republic. Based on the results, create a working group on these issues.

What has already been done and what still needs to be done for such “synchronization”?

First, the Ministry of Education and Culture carried out the “New Ukrainian School” (NUS) education reform. It is enshrined in the Law “On Education”, which was developed taking into account the recommendations of the European Parliament and the Council of Europe. From 2018-2019 all first grades learn according to the new standards, when knowledge is acquired through activities.

It is also important to agree on the duration of education. After all, the shortest duration of obtaining a full general secondary education in the EU is 12 years. In Ukraine — 11 years. The transition to 12-year education will take place in stages until 2027, when students who have been studying in the NUS program since the first grade will enter the 10th grade.

In the post-Soviet space of Europe, there are only three states, except Ukraine, where full secondary education lasts 11 years. These are: Azerbaijan, Belarus and Russia.

In 16 European countries, pre-school education of varying duration is also compulsory. Our Law “On Education” also considers pre-school education for five-year-old children mandatory, but this is not supported by the Constitution.

But high school in the EU is not mandatory, in Ukraine it is indispensable. In European countries, more than 95% of schoolchildren continue their education in high school, despite its optionality.

Education in high school takes place according to academic (in-depth study of certain subjects) or professional (acquiring a certain profession) programs, at the choice of the student.

From 2027, the senior school will be reformed according to the same principle as in the EU.

According to the NUS reform, school education will be divided into three levels:

• primary — from 1 to 4 years of study,
• basic from 5 to 9 years (and has the name — gymnasium),
• senior specialized school from 10 to 12 years (and has the name — lyceum).

A specialized school should give students the opportunity to choose the direction they want to study. Physico-mathematical, philological, geographical or other. Profiling will help improve the quality of education and prepare students for university and work.

Integration with the European system will make it possible to recognize acquired knowledge, skills, grades in EU countries, and in accordance with education documents.