As of today, the Ukrainian Oblasts (Regions) have reported that 142 pivotal schools are ready to operate. Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Dnipropetrovsk, and Ternopil Oblasts (Regions) are the leaders in terms of their number. It was so reported by Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Lilia Hrynevych.

She noted that the pivotal schools constitute one of the priorities for the Ministry of Education and Science since such schools allow ensuring better access to high-quality education for children from the rural areas.

Thus, the primary school will remain near the home, and pupils of the secondary school will be driven to the pivotal schools where better teachers work and the equipment necessary for education is available.

The establishment of the network of pivotal schools is possible only under the condition that a qualitative transportation of children is arranged for and that school buses and repaired roads are available.

"The Government has appropriated UAH 600 million for school buses. In this connection, for the purposes of comparison, approximately UAH 347.8 million are allocated for these purposes in the local budgets. Initially, there was a resolution made providing for the funding of the purchase of buses on the 50 % : 50 % principle, then concessions were made and the proportion changed 70 % : 30 %. However, this potential has not yet been used at the local level", Lilia Hrynevych emphasized.

The Minister noted that the local self-government bodies, as a result of decentralisation, received additional funds - just over the period from 1 January to 1 July 2016, they increased their own budgetary receipts by UAH 23 billion, in comparison with the last year.

In general, the pivotal schools now operate 172 buses, including 42 buses purchased in the previous years, and in this year, additional 130 buses were purchased.

"Currently, 130 buses have been purchased for the pivotal schools, still, 152 more are urgently needed", explains the head of the Ministry of Education and Science.

"I want to underline that the synchronization of the repairing of roads with the routes of transportation of children to pivotal schools is not less important for us. According to our calculations, still 2.5 thousand of roads need to be repaired, by which roads the greatest number of pupils will be transported", Lilia Hrynevych noted.

For reference purposes: the establishment of the network of pivotal schools is one of the priorities of the Government Action Plan as approved by Order No. 418 of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, dated 27 May [2016]. The Government allocated UAH 200 million for the improvement of facilities and resources of the pivotal schools and UAH 600 million for the acquisition of buses on the principles of co-financing with local authorities.

Please find more information about the decentralisation HERE