Odesa's Education Overhaul: 38 New Gymnasiums by 2027 Amid Quarantine

A plan for the transformation of general secondary education in Odesa, which will last until 2027, was presented at a meeting of the Standing Committee on Education, Sports and Cooperation with Public Organizations.

According to Olena Buynevych, Director of the Department of Education and Science, 118 out of 120 general secondary education institutions will remain. Two educational institutions - elementary schools No. 292 and No. 313 - will become full-fledged kindergartens, as they already perform these functions. Thus, instead of 10 primary schools, the city will have 8.

In addition, the number of gymnasiums will increase in the city: their number will rise from 28 to 66, which means 38 more institutions. At the same time, the number of lyceums will decrease from 81 to 43, as 38 lyceums will be transformed into gymnasiums.

The director also noted that special school No. 75 will remain in its current status.

Each district of the city has already determined which institutions will receive the status of lyceum or gymnasium. A transition schedule has also been developed so that students can complete their studies under current programs. For most institutions, the possibility of entering the 10th grade in 2025-2026 has been retained so that graduates can complete their studies by September 1, 2027.

At the same time, Lyceum No. 9, which has not enrolled students in grades 1-4 before, and the 7th grade of the Economic Lyceum, which will become a high school only, will not be enrolling this year. In addition, a number of schools in Kyiv district will not be enrolling 10th graders.

Ms. Buynevych emphasized that these changes are aimed at optimizing the network of educational institutions in line with the new secondary education standards.

Meanwhile, the school and 144 classrooms in other schools in Odesa were quarantined due to students contracting influenza and acute respiratory infections. Earlier, the Odesa Regional Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 45 schools, five vocational education institutions and 4 kindergartens in Odesa region were quarantined due to the high incidence of influenza and ARVI among children.

Ірина Глухова