Ukraine is changing the education system in high school: what awaits students and teachers

Ukraine is preparing for a large-scale reform of high school, which involves the transition to profile education, updating educational programs and changing approaches to assessing knowledge. Students will receive more opportunities to independently choose subjects, and teachers will receive new tools for organizing the educational process.

Since September 2026, 150 academic lyceums have begun piloting the “Profile” reform. In the future, they plan to use the experience gained to implement a new model of education in more than 2 thousand academic lyceums throughout Ukraine.

What will change for students

One of the key innovations will be the opportunity to choose academic disciplines according to their own interests and future profession.

In grade 10, students will be able to familiarize themselves with various educational profiles, and in grades 11–12, more time will be devoted to in-depth study of selected subjects.

In addition, education will become more practical. Instead of mainly theoretical learning of the material, students will more often conduct research, experiments, analyze information and work on practical tasks.

This approach should contribute to the development of critical thinking, independence and problem-solving skills.

How will teachers’ work change

The reform provides for updating teaching methods and preparation for lessons.

Teachers will pay more attention to practical tasks, individual needs of students and interdisciplinary cooperation.

To support teachers, the Ministry of Education and Science plans to provide methodological support and additional training.

New rules for assessing knowledge

The changes will also affect the assessment system.

Teachers will take into account not only the correctness of the answer, but also how the student arrived at the result.

In particular, the student’s ability to:

independently analyze information;

check their own assumptions;
argue conclusions;
find and correct errors;

apply the knowledge gained in practice.

It is expected that this approach will help students better understand their own progress and determine directions for further development.

STEM education will be developed in schools

Special attention will be paid to the creation of modern educational spaces and the implementation of the STEM approach.

It involves the combination of natural sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics to solve real practical problems.

Educational institutions will be equipped according to their needs and the characteristics of the educational process.

Thus, the reform should change the traditional approach to high school, making education more flexible, practical and focused on the individual abilities of students.

At the same time, the full implementation of the new model will depend on the results of piloting, training teachers and providing lyceums with the necessary equipment.