Specialised secondary education represents the third level of complete general secondary education in Ukraine. It requires learners to meet the learning outcomes defined by the State Standard for Specialised Secondary Education, as outlined in Article 4 of the Law on Complete General Secondary Education (Закон України ‘Про повну загальну середню освіту’). This level of education lasts three years.
Since 2018, the national education system has been reformed under the New Ukrainian School (NUS) initiative (Розпорядження Кабінету Міністрів України ‘Про схвалення Концепції реалізації державної політики у сфері реформування загальної середньої освіти ‘Нова українська школа’ на період до 2029 року’). Therefore, learners who started their education before 2018 will complete general secondary education in 11 years, while those who started school in 2018 or later will follow a 12-year programme.
The NUS reform envisages the introduction of three-year specialised secondary education (grades 10-12) from 2027.
Those learners who started their studies before 2018 follow the State Standard for Basic and Complete General Secondary Education (Постанова Кабінету Міністрів України ‘Державний стандарт базової і повної середньої освіти’). At the upper secondary stage (grades 10-11), the content and requirements of education consist of basic and specialised levels. The basic level covers compulsory requirements set by the state standard, while the specialised level follows curricula approved by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (MESU).
Learners study the compulsory content of the branches of knowledge by taking individual subjects or elective courses. The number of hours allocated for each branch determines the format, and modular technology can also be applied as an alternative.
According to the Law on Education (Закон України ‘Про освіту’) there are two directions of specialised secondary education:
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Academic: focused on further education in higher education institutions.
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Vocational: aimed at developing skills for the labour market.
Completion of specialised secondary education in either directiondoes not restrict a person's right to pursue further education at other levels. Educational institutions may offer programmes of specialised secondary education in one or both directions.
Types of institutions
Lyceums are institutions specialising in the provision of specialised secondary education. By the decision of the founder, a lyceum may also provide basic (lower) secondary education, and in exceptional cases, primary education.It may also include a department of early childhood education. According to the Law on Complete General Secondary Education (Закон України ‘Про повну загальну середню освіту’), institutions operating at several levels of general secondary education are classified as upper-level general secondary education institutions.
As of the school year 2023/2024, the State Statistics Service of Ukraine (Державна служба статистики України)identifies the following types of general secondary education institutions (GSEIs) providing specialised secondary education:
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Lyceum;
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Lyceum with early childhood department, primary school and gymnasium;
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Lyceum with primary school and gymnasium;
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Lyceum with infant section and gymnasium;
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Lyceum with a gymnasium.
Vocational education and training institutions licensed to provide general secondary education also provide specialised secondary education, as defined by Ukrainian legislation.
Geographical accessibility
In Ukraine, GSEIs providing only specialised secondary education are not allocated specific service areas.
Learners at all levels of general secondary education, including specialised secondary education, living in rural areas receive transport to and from their schools. Local budgets fund this transport, including accessible options for persons with disabilities, such as those with visual, hearing or mobility impairments. Following the Sanitary Regulations for Secondary Education Institutions (Наказ Міністерства охорони здоров’я України ‘Про затвердження Санітарного регламенту для закладів загальної середньої освіти’), learners who live more than 2 km from their school are entitled to transport organised by the school's founders in accordance with the law.
Admission requirements and choice of school
The Procedure for enrolment, expulsion and transfer of learners to state and municipal educational institutions for complete general secondary education (Наказ Міністерства освіти і науки України ‘Порядок зарахування, відрахування та переведення учнів до державних та комунальних закладів освіти для здобуття повної загальної середньої освіти’) defines the rules of admission to such institutions, which provide specialised secondary education. Admission requirements for private and corporate educational institutions are set by their founders.
Educational institutions in Ukraine may provide general secondary education at one, several or all levels (primary, basic (lower) and specialised (upper) secondary education). Therefore, admission requirements differ depending on the levels offered.
In institutions offering more than one level of general secondary education, admission to grade 10 of the upper secondary school takes place after a decision has been taken on the transfer of pupils in grade 9 within the same educational institution. Free places, if available, are allocated on a competitive basis, unless the number of applications does not exceed the total number of places availablein the class(es).
Institutions offering only specialised secondary education usually admit learners on the basis of a competitive examination. However, if by 15 June the number of applications does not exceed the number of places available in the class(es), no competition will be held.
The decision to hold a competition must be announced by the next working day and must include the date, time and place of the entrance examination. The institution's pedagogical council approves the admission procedure and the examination papers. The head of the institution then certifies these documents. The institution publishes the admission procedure and samples of competitive tasks on its website at least two months beforethe start of the admission examinations. If the institution does not have a website, this information is published on the website of the governing body.
A competition committee is formed to organise the competition, and subject-specific committees evaluate the results of the entrance examinations. The head of the institution approves the composition of such committees. The pedagogical council decides on the type, form and number of entrance examinations (up to two), the list of topics for subject-specific questions and topics for creative works, including content and submission requirements. The head of the pedagogical council certifies these decisions.
Entrance examinations may be oral, written and/or using digital technologies, such as tests, dictations, written assignments, oral answers to questions, presentations of creative works, interviews, etc.
Admission is based on the results of the entrance examination. An applicant (or one of the parents) who disagrees with the decision of the competition committee may appeal to the governing body of the institution within two working days of the announcement of the results. The appeals committee reviews the appeal within three working days of its submission and makes a reasoned decision. Members of the appeals committee cannot include staff from the educational institution where the competition was conducted. No additional examinations are allowed during the appeal process. If the results of a competition are invalidated, the governing body must organise a new competition.
Applicants may participate in competitions held by different educational institutions. If an applicant is successful in more than one competition, they enrol in the institution where they submit the original certificate of education and other required documents as specified by the Order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (MESU) (Наказ Міністерства освіти і науки України ‘Про затвердження Порядку зарахування, відрахування та переведення учнів до державних та комунальних закладів освіти для здобуття повної загальної середньої освіти’). These documents must be submitted within five working days of receiving the results of the competition and no later than 31 August.
Age levels and grouping of learners
Specialised secondary education (grades 10–11/12) is a component of the complete general secondary education system. It corresponds to level 3 of the National Qualifications Framework and is classified at ISCED 3.
At this level of education, teachers deliver subjects or integrated courses in the following branches of knowledge:
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Language and literature;
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Mathematics;
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Natural science;
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Technology;
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Computer science;
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Social and health protection;
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Civics and history;
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Arts;
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Physical education.
In order to organise the educational process in specialised schools, classes or groups are formed. These may include special, inclusive, distance learning or evening formats, as well as classes taught in the state language alongside the language of the indigenous peoples or national minorities of Ukraine. Parents of children with special educational needs may apply to the educational institution for an inclusive class. The head of the educational institution may establish a special class with the approval of the founder or an authorised body. Classes in the language of indigenous peoples or national minorities, alongside the state language, are established if there are sufficient requests from parents or guardians of the learners.
In addition to the subject or integrated course teachers, a class teacher works directly with the learners. The head of the educational institution appoints a member of the teaching staff to this role. The relevant regulations on class teachers (Наказ Міністерства освіти і науки України ‘Положення про класного керівника навчального закладу системи загальної середньої освіти’)outline the rights and responsibilities of this role.
State or municipal educational institutions usuallyenrol 5 to 30 learners per class for basic or specialised secondary education. However, this rule is suspended during martial law.
A class in a state or municipal educational institution may be divided into up to three groups of at least eight learners each, in order to ensure the proper quality of teaching in certain subjects or integrated courses. The central executive body in the field of education and science establishes the procedure for dividing classes into groups when studying certain subjects (integrated courses) in these educational institutions.
Organisation of the school year
The school year in upper secondary schools in Ukraine begins on 1 September, known as the Day of Knowledge. It lasts at least 175 school days and ends no later than 1 July of the following year. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine determines the duration of the school year and sets the starting and ending dates each year. For example, the 2023/2024 school year ended on 28 June 2024 (Постанова Кабінету Міністрів України ‘Про початок навчального року під час воєнного стану в Україні’).
Education is divided into two semesters:
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First semester: 1 September to the end of the calendar year.
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Second semester: from the beginning of the calendar year to 31 May.
Schools have autumn, winter and spring holidays during the school year. Autumn holidays usually fall in the last week of October; winter - in the last week of December and the first week of January; spring - in the last week of March. The summer holidays last until 31 August.
The pedagogical council of a GSEI determines the duration of the school year in accordance with:
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the end dates set by the government,
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the time allocated in the educational programme,
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the study load outlinedin the curriculum,
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the age, physical, psychological and intellectual development of the learners and regional characteristics.
The school also determines the dates of holidays, ensuring that the total number of holidays during the school year is not less than 30 calendar days.
Organisation of the school day and week
The pedagogical council of the educational institution determines the structure and duration of the school day and week, as well as the timetable of lessons, breaks and forms of educational activities. These decisions follow the same principles as the organisation of the school year. They are based on the time allocated in the educational programme, the study load outlined in the curriculum and the age, physical, psychological and intellectual development of the learners, as well as regional characteristics.
In specialised secondary schools (10-11/12 years of study), lessons cannot exceed 45 minutes, except in cases specified by law.Lessons can start at 8:00 am, 8:30 am or 9:00 am. Schools usually have five or more lessons per day. The start of lessons and the duration of breaks may differ from one school to another, and more details can be found on the institution's website.