In 2025, some schools in Ukrainian villages may be closed to improve the quality of education and optimize the number of educational institutions. This is reported by the press service of the Ministry of Education, UNN writes.
Details
Starting from September 1, 2025, it was decided not to finance the salaries of teachers in schools with fewer than 45 students, and starting from September 1, 2026, with fewer than 60 students. This decision does not apply to primary schools and will only apply to education at the level of grades 5-11
The Ministry emphasizes that all school-age children are included in the calculation of each community's educational subvention. That is, the community will receive funds for the education of all children, but will not be able to spend them on small schools.
Thus, local governments can decide to either transport students from these schools to the nearest larger school or pay teachers of small schools from local budgets.
The Ministry of Education also stated that such a decision to improve the quality of education for students from villages in Ukraine was already made in 2016. However, then it was only about schools with less than 25 students.
As explained by the Ministry of Education, in schools of I-III levels with less than 45 students , children do not receive the proper level of interaction with each other, do not learn from each other, and do not see role models.
This is because in such schools there are 5-6 students in one class, and children study individually or in combined classes (primary school) that bring together students of different ages.
In addition, such schools are usually not fully staffed with teachers. Also, teachers are often unable to complete enough hours in their core subject to receive sufficient salaries, so it is common for these schools to outsource some subjects to non-core teachers.
Therefore, the government's decision should encourage local governments to bring children to larger schools that are staffed with teachers, technically equipped, etc
Addendum
In addition, according to the PISA-2022 international study of the quality of education, students from rural areas lag behind their urban peers by 4.5 years in terms of academic performance. That is, it takes them 4.5 years to have the same knowledge and skills as students of the same age in cities.
Similar results are shown in of the NMT: last year, the average score of students from rural areas was more than 6 points lower than that of students from urban areas in the Ukrainian language; more than 8 points lower in mathematics; and almost 3 points lower in the history of Ukraine. The results of rural students in other elective subjects are also lower.
At the same time, rural education is more expensive for the state because of its lower quality. On average, the state spends 30,400 hryvnias per year on education for one student in a village, and 24,400 hryvnias per year in a city. In some villages, the cost of education per student reaches more than 51 thousand hryvnias. This is due to the need to maintain and pay salaries to employees of a large number of schools with few students. In other words, education in villages is more expensive, but it does not justify the cost in terms of quality
What will happen to the students of these schools
The Ministry of Education says that local authorities should organize transportation of children to the hub school. Children should be accompanied by a teacher on such trips.
For the second year in a row, the government has allocated a subvention of UAH 1 billion for the purchase of buses to transport children. Last year, more than 450 buses were purchased in co-financing with local budgets.
A hub school is a school to which children are brought from different settlements up to 30 kilometers away. It is bigger, has more teachers, and is better equipped. With larger class sizes, teachers can organize different learning formats, such as project work
At the same time, primary schools with less than 45 and less than 60 students will continue to receive state funding.
The Ministry of Education is convinced that primary schools should be as close to the child as possible: if older students can make it to a hub school, it will be difficult for young children.
What will happen to the teachers of these schools?
If local governments decide not to finance the work of a small school on their own, teachers can be employed in hub schools with transportation.
Why will the decision take effect from September 1, 2025?
Changing the school network takes time to discuss with the community, make a decision, and provide transportation to hub schools. The government gives communities time to prepare for this.
Recall
The Cabinet of Ministers merged two research institutions and one educational institution with leading universities in Kharkiv, Kyiv, and Lviv to strengthen university science and resources.