The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine has announced the launch of a large-scale pilot project to finance the professional development of teachers, which will start at the end of 2025. The initiative involves a radical change in the approach to the distribution of public funds, giving teachers the direct opportunity to choose the place and subject of their training. On the podcast ‘What’s up with education?’, Vladislav Shtegelsky, manager of the NUS Implementation Office at the Ministry of Education and Science, outlined the main goal of the reform: ‘It is the foundation that should change the model of professional development in favour of teacher trust, free choice and support.’
Scope of the pilot and target audience
The pilot phase will begin in December 2025 or January 2026, when registration opens on the specialised Vector platform. The project will cover the first 100,000 participants who submit applications in the system. Teachers of grades 7–9 of the New Ukrainian School, as well as teachers of grade 10 involved in piloting specialised secondary education, are invited to participate. The choice of these categories is determined by the logic of implementing educational reform and the urgent need to train personnel to work with updated programmes and standards.
Virtual funds instead of paperwork
The interaction mechanism is based on digital solutions to simplify the procedure as much as possible. The teacher registers an electronic account, submits an application and receives 1,500 hryvnias in their virtual account. Commenting on the amount of funding, Vladislav Shtegelsky noted: ‘In fact, this is several times more, three to five times more than what was previously allocated per teacher when the state provided subsidies.’ The procedure for receiving funds is designed to avoid unnecessary bureaucracy. ‘It is as simple and intuitive as possible, requiring just a few clicks, as is generally the case in our country,’ said the representative of the Ministry of Education and Science, describing how the system works.
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Free market for educational services
The system operates on a marketplace principle, featuring various providers: from postgraduate education institutions to private organisations and sole traders. Teachers independently select topics of interest from an approved list, such as assessment, working with children with special needs, or mentoring. Podcast host Artur Proydakov noted that there are concerns among educators about the transparency of payments: ‘There is a healthy scepticism on social media… that nothing will happen and teachers will not see this money.’ In response, Vladislav Shtegelsky explained that the funds are earmarked and protected from the influence of school administrations: ‘They do not go to any educational institution, they do not go to the education department or anything like that. The teacher chooses a provider for themselves… and it happens directly, the state institution will pay these funds.’
A focus on trust and professionalism
An important aspect of the reform is the demonopolisation of the market and the creation of a competitive environment. Providers must register on the platform and have their programmes verified by the Ukrainian Institute for Education Development. ‘It is obvious that only a teacher who works in the classroom and sees what is happening can choose the best development model for themselves,’ Shtegelsky emphasised the importance of independent choice. After the pilot is completed in December 2026 and the results are analysed, the project is planned to be scaled up. The new policy is based on a philosophy of partnership. ‘When we talk about this “money follows the teacher” model, we are talking about trust in the teacher, about faith in their expertise,’ concluded the manager of the NUS Implementation Office.
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