Finland supports Ukraine in implementing upper secondary school reform: outcomes of ministers’ meeting
A bilateral meeting took place between Oksen Lisovyi, Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, and Anders Adlercreutz, Minister of Education and Culture of Finland. The key objective was to discuss further steps for cooperation to advance Ukrainian education, with a particular focus on supporting the upper secondary school reform (upper secondary specialized education).
Finland is one of the key partners in implementing this reform. In 2025, the Finnish side allocated €20 million to support it — as an important contribution to bringing Ukraine closer to EU standards and ensuring the long-term development of quality education for students. The funding will be directed towards:
professional development of teachers and school leaders;
supporting schools in designing educational programmes based on selected specializations;
developing and implementing social programmes to support teachers, administrative staff, and students, using a trauma-informed approach to organizing and delivering the educational process.
During the bilateral meeting, the parties discussed the further implementation of the reform. The Finnish side confirmed its interest in continuing support and emphasized its importance for the transformation of Ukraine’s education system.
Oksen Lisovyi shared updates on the progress of preparing the upper secondary reform and stressed the importance of international support for its implementation.
“The upper secondary school reform is one of the key transformations in school education. It is designed to give high school students more choice, flexibility, and opportunities to build their own learning pathways. It is important for us that this reform already has broad support: 85% of students and parents of high schoolers support its implementation; 150 schools have already joined the pilot, and another 30 joined the pre-pilot in 2025.
International partnership is vital for such changes, as it is not only about developing new curricula, but also about teacher training, governance decisions at the community level, and the quality of the learning environment for students.
I am grateful to Finland for its consistent support of this transformation,” said Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, Oksen Lisovyi.
In addition to upper secondary education, the parties discussed opportunities to expand cooperation in other areas, including:
development of early childhood education;
support for the international Shelter Coalition;
cooperation in the field of history education, including the potential for joint research and projects within the framework of the Council of Europe Observatory on History Teaching.
Finland remains a strategic partner of Ukraine in education — from supporting the New Ukrainian School reform and vocational education to advancing innovative approaches to learning.
The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine expresses its gratitude for the consistent support and readiness to further develop long-term partnership.