From 18 to 21 August 2025, Lviv hosted a seminar on the education subvention, supported by the Swedish-Ukrainian Polaris Programme “Supporting Multilevel Governance in Ukraine.” The event brought together representatives of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine and the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine to discuss improvements to the allocation mechanism and issues related to teacher remuneration reform.
The expert discussions were moderated by Jan Herczynski, Lead and Expert of the Education on the National Level team of the Polaris Programme. These regular biannual seminars foster effective dialogue among all stakeholders and aim to ensure constructive cooperation in addressing complex issues.
During the discussions, participants considered a number of potential changes to the calculated class size (CCS) for 2026, which is a key parameter of the formula. In particular, proposals included a buffer mechanism for hromadas located away from the front line to support optimisation of the school network, as well as for frontline regions to ensure stability of teacher salaries.
Special attention was paid to the issue of separating individual forms of learning (external studies, home education, and pedagogical patronage for children from temporarily occupied territories) in the subvention formula, along with an analysis of the financial implications of such a decision.
The outcomes of the seminar will serve as a basis for continued cooperation and open dialogue in the process of implementing changes to the education subvention formula for 2026, aimed at ensuring a more effective and fair use of extremely limited budgetary resources.
