The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine has presented an updated interactive map and relaunched a specialized portal dedicated to the large-scale high school reform. These innovations are designed to help students and their parents navigate the developing network of academic lyceums and professional colleges in advance, where ninth-grade graduates will be able to enroll in the coming years.
Two paths for ninth-grade graduates
After completing the ninth grade, Ukrainian schoolchildren will be able to choose one of two main vectors for further education. The first path is academic lyceums, designed for studies in grades 10–12 with deep immersion in a chosen profile. The second path involves professional colleges focused on quickly acquiring a sought-after specialty. The ministry emphasizes that profile education in lyceums involves not only in-depth study of key subjects, but also mastering elective courses chosen by the student.
Flexibility of the educational process and adaptation period
An important feature of the reformed system will be a smooth transition into profile education. The tenth grade is conceived as an adaptation stage during which teenagers can more precisely determine their inclinations and interests. The proportion of time for elective disciplines will consistently increase: from 140 hours in the tenth grade to 420 hours in the twelfth. This approach allows high school students to adjust their educational trajectory if the initial choice of direction seems less suitable, as well as to prepare more effectively for university admission.
Logistics, boarding facilities, and project piloting
To ensure access to quality education, authorities are forming an enlarged network of lyceums so that the maximum distance from a student's place of residence does not exceed 30 kilometers. School buses are used to transport children, and in exceptional cases, special boarding facilities with accommodation during the work week are provided. Large-scale implementation of the model started in stages: a pilot project covered dozens of institutions back in 2025, and starting September 1, 2026, already 150 academic lyceums across the country are testing new standards ahead of the nationwide launch of the reform in 2027.
