The government of Ukraine establishes education policy through the Verkhovna Rada, which is then implemented by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (MESU), other central executive authorities, and local self-government bodies.

At the national level, the principles of education policy are based on the Constitution of Ukraine, laws, and subordinate normative legal acts. At the regional (local) level, the responsibility for managing education is delegated to local self-government bodies, including the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, oblast councils, Kyiv and Sevastopol city councils, as well as district, city, village, and settlement councils. The mechanism of governance at the regional level is described in Сhapter 2.7. - зробити гіперпосилання на наступний підрозділ 2.7  

Administration and governance at the central level

Authorities of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine

According to the Constitution of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is the sole body responsible for adopting laws on the basic principles of state education policy.

The Committee on Education, Science and Innovation of the Verkhovna Rada, consisting of deputies, is responsible for the drafting, preparation and preliminary examination of issues within the competence of the Verkhovna Rada. The Committee carries out legislative work on education, science, scientific-technical and innovative activities, development of advanced technologies, intellectual property, legal status and social protection of pedagogical, scientific and scientific-pedagogical workers. It also conducts preliminary reviews and prepares opinions on draft laws and other legal acts submitted for consideration by the Verkhovna Rada.

The legal framework of the Committee is based on the Rules of Procedure of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Law on Committees of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the Law on the Status of а Member of Parliament of Ukraine. The Committee includes subcommittees on early childhood education and care, general secondary education, inclusive education and education in the temporarily occupied territories, vocational education and professional non-tertiary education, higher education, science and innovation, lifelong learning and out-of-school education.

Authorities of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine is responsible for implementing the government's education policy and ensuring everyone's constitutional right to education.

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine implements this policy by developing, approving and implementing governmental targeted programmes in the field of education. It also approves the strategy for the development of education in Ukraine.

Key responsibilities of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine include:

• Ensuring equal conditions for the development of educational institutions of all forms of ownership;

• Establishing state priorities for the training of specialists, including the list of branches of study and specialities;

• Approving licensing standards for educational activities;

• Establishing evaluation indicators for the state of education in Ukraine and its regions;

• Determining the procedure for the allocation of state funds, including the formation and distribution of educational subventions within budgets;

• Exercise additional powers as specified in the Law on Education (закон України ‘Про освіту’) and the Law on the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

Authorities of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine

The MESU is a central executive body whose activities are directed and coordinated by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. The main tasks of the MESU are:

• To ensure the formulation and implementation of policy in the field of education and science, including scientific, scientific-technical and innovative activities, as well as technology transfer.

• To oversee the formulation and implementation of government policy on the supervision and control of educational institutions, enterprises, establishments and organisations providing educational services or engaged in related activities, regardless of their subordination and ownership structure.

The MESU is responsible for a number of key functions, including:

• Provides regulatory and legal support for the education system;

• Organises the collection and processing of education statistics;

• Approves procedures, types and forms for monitoring the quality of education;

• Organises the development and approval of educational standards;

• Organises and carries out scientific and methodological support for education;

• Facilitates international cooperation in education, science and innovation;

• Allocates educational subventions and public funding for secondary, vocational, professional non-tertiary and higher education, as well as the scholarship fund for the institutions under its jurisdiction;

• Develops and approves the requirements for admission to educational institutions;

• Licenses educational activities and monitors compliance with licensing requirements;

• Approves standard educational programmes; 

• Coordinates the activities of structural units of local executive and local self-government bodies in the field of education;

• Exercises other powers provided for by Ukrainian legislation and the Regulation on the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.

Structure of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine

The MESU is headed by the Minister, who is appointed by decree of the President of Ukraine on the recommendation of the Prime Minister and dismissed by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

The Minister is assisted by a First Deputy Minister and Deputy Ministers who are appointed and dismissed by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on the recommendation of the Prime Minister and in accordance with the proposals of the Minister.

The State Secretary performs the duties of the head of the civil service within the MESU. Reporting to the Minister, the State Secretary is appointed by the Cabinet of Ministers for a five-year term, with the possibility of reappointment. The State Secretary may be dismissed by the Cabinet of Ministers on the basis of a recommendation from the Prime Minister or the Minister.

The MESU is organised into various categories, including directorates, departments, offices, divisions and services. The structure is as follows:

Directorates:

• Directorate of Vocational Education and Training;
• Directorate of Professional Non-Tertiary and Higher Education;
• Directorate of Science Development;
• Directorate of Digital Transformation;
• Directorate of International Cooperation;
• Directorate of Strategic Planning and Recovery;
• Directorate of Preschool and Inclusive Education;
• Directorate of European and Euro-Atlantic Integration;
• Directorate of Innovation and Science Liaison with the Real Sector of Economy;
• Directorate of School Education.

Departments, offices, divisions and sectors:

• Department of Financing of Public and National Expenditures;
• Department of Legal Support;
• Department of Document Management, Monitoring and Information Technology;
• Department of Certification of Highly Qualified Personnel;
• Office of State Property and Enterprises;
• Office of Accounting and Reporting;
• Office of International Cooperation and Protocol;
• Internal Audit Division;
• Division of Planning, Public Relations and Access to Public Information;
• Patronage Service of the Minister.

Authorities of government bodies responsible for managing educational institutions

The government bodies responsible for the management of educational institutions have a number of essential functions, including the following:

• Participating in the implementation of education policy;

• Contributing to the development of admission criteria for vocational, professional non-tertiary, and higher education institutions;

• Allocating public funds and scholarships to the educational institutions under their jurisdiction;

• Analysing and monitoring the quality of the educational activities of the institutions they administer;

• Participating in the development of educational standards;

• Organising the review and approval of educational materials for specialised education;

• Supporting the development of action plans to prevent and combat bullying in educational institutions;

• Exercising other powers as provided by Ukrainian legislation.

Administration and governance at the regional level

Authorities of local self-government bodies

At the regional level, education management is handled by local self-government bodies, including the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the 24 oblast councils, the Kyiv city council and the Sevastopol city council (both the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol are currently under temporary occupation by the Russian Federation). Executive authority in the regions and districts, as well as in the cities of Kyiv and Sevastopol, is exercised by local state administrations. Ukraine has 27 regions in total: 24 oblasts, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and 2 cities with special status – Kyiv and Sevastopol.

Local self-government bodies have the following responsibilities:

• Implementing the government's education policy and ensuring the quality of education in their areas.

• Providing access to complete general secondary education and vocational education and training;

• Planning and ensuring the development of а network of specialised secondary, vocational and out-of-school education institutions, including specialised education institutions, scientific-methodological and training-methodological institutions;

• Establishing and maintaining of municipal postgraduate educational institutions for the professional development of pedagogical staff;

• Establishing, reorganizing, re-profiling (changing type) or closing educational institutions in accordance with special laws;

• Providing accommodation or transport to and from the place of study for students of specialised secondary and vocational education who study away from their place of residence. This includes the provision of adapted transport for persons with visual, hearing, musculoskeletal and other mobility impairments, where necessary;

• Publishing official reports detailing all funds received and spent as well as the list and cost of goods, works, and services for each educational institution established by them, and other education-related expenses.

• Ensuring equal conditions for the development of educational institutions, regardless of their form of ownership;

• Supporting the development of plans to prevent and combat bullying (harassment) in educational institutions;

• Exercising other powers as outlined by Ukrainian legislation.