Deputy Ministers of Education and Science of Ukraine, Nadiia Kuzmichova and Anastasiia Konovalova, together with representatives of the MoES directorates, education specialists from territorial hromadas, and experts from the Polaris Programme, took part in a study visit to Sweden.
The programme focused on the following areas:
• organisation and financing of general secondary education in municipalities, particularly under conditions of declining student numbers and in the context of inter-municipal cooperation;
• governance, financing and supervision in early childhood education;
• distribution of responsibilities between national and local levels, as well as mechanisms for ensuring quality and equal access to education.
Sweden’s education governance structure includes several levels. At the political level, the system is led by the minister and state secretaries. Operational work is carried out by department heads of the ministry and political advisers. Implementation of national education policy is ensured through the Swedish National Agency for Education (Skolverket), which is responsible for standards, methodological guidance, national assessments and education statistics.
During the visit, a high-level meeting was held with the State Secretaries of the Swedish Ministry of Education, Maria Nilsson and Oskar Wogglund Söderström.
“Despite the war, Ukraine continues to develop its education system – and our partners recognise this. During the visit, we discussed how to make education governance even more transparent and how to strengthen support for hromadas. It is very important for us not only to study international experience, but to understand how to adapt best practices to Ukrainian realities. We are returning to Ukraine not only with impressions, but with concrete tools,” said Nadiia Kuzmichova.
“Great to meet with Ukrainian Deputy Minister for Education, Nadiia Kuzmychova, visiting Stockholm last week. Maria Nilsson and I had interesting discussions with Nadiia on education and professional development for teachers, schooling for kids with special needs and disabilities, and not least - how important it is for students to have access to proper textbooks. We all know that Ukraine is doing a tremendous job in defending its own and Europe's freedom every day. But freedom and democracy cannot thrive without an educated population, so a key element is to maintain well-functioning schools also in areas struck by Russian attacks, as well as offering online education to young Ukrainian refugees all over the world,” said Oscar Wåglund Söderström, State Secretary of the Swedish Ministry of Education.
Nadiia Kuzmichova and Anastasiia Konovalova also met with Joakim Malmström, Director-General of the Swedish National Agency for Education (Skolverket). The discussion focused on publicly funded private schools, as well as approaches to accreditation, inspections and quality assurance. The parties also outlined areas of further cooperation – particularly in early childhood education, inclusion, and teacher training.
“It has been an honor for me to welcome the Ukraine delegation to Skolverket. Ukraine and Sweden have a strong bilateral relationship, and we share many values. One of them is the importance of education. To be able to continue providing education during times of crisis is important for society as a whole and for our children – our future. I would like to thank the delegation for sharing your knowledge and experiences and for interesting discussions during your visit. Supporting Ukraine remains a priority for Skolverket and we are available for further collaboration,” said Joakim Malmström.
“During the meeting, we discussed possible approaches to financing early childhood education, including the issue of increasing salaries for teaching staff. Sweden has a unique model where the State Budget provides additional funding to local budgets, and this approach could be extremely useful for Ukraine, which is currently reforming its early childhood education financing system,” said Anastasiia Konovalova.
At the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR), participants discussed education models with a focus on financing and state guarantees. The distribution of responsibilities was examined in more detail during a meeting with the regional association of municipalities of the Stockholm Region (Storsthlm).
It is worth recalling that on 10 November, the Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, Oksen Lisovyi, met with Sweden’s Ambassador Martin Oberg to discuss the next steps in bilateral cooperation — from support for preschool and school reforms to the development of governance and financing systems implemented, in part, through the Polaris Programme.
The study visit was organised and conducted with the support of the Polaris Programme Supporting Multilevel Governance in Ukraine, financed by Sida and implemented by SALAR International.
Source: Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine
Photos: Linkedin, Skolverket
