The Ministry of Education and Science proposes to focus on the formation of basic literacy and national identity of high school students, excluding important subjects from the curriculum

The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (MES) has announced yet another controversial reform that promises to fundamentally change the system of education in senior classes. From 2027, it is planned to exclude such subjects as physics, chemistry and biology from the list of compulsory subjects for schoolchildren. This decision caused a wide public outcry, because it radically changes the usual education system.

What is the essence of the reform?

MES proposes to focus on the formation of basic literacy and national identity, leaving only a few key compulsory subjects:

• Ukrainian language and literature
• History of Ukraine
• English
• Mathematics
• Physical culture
• “Defense of Ukraine”

Students will also be given the opportunity to choose one additional subject from the list: art, technology, computer science or financial literacy. This, according to the developers of the reform, will allow high school students to specialize in fields that correspond to their interests and professional plans.

The following will be excluded from the list of mandatory subjects:

• Foreign literature
• World history
• Civic education
• Biology and ecology
• Geography
• Physics and chemistry

Instead, an individualized approach to choosing subjects is offered, which provides more freedom for students to shape their own curriculum.

Testing of innovations

The pilot project of such an innovation will start in 2025 in selected lyceums. This will make it possible to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the system before its implementation at the national level. The Ministry emphasizes that this approach is aimed at increasing the efficiency of the educational process and improving the quality of education.

What parents think

The reform has already caused lively discussion among parents, teachers and experts. We offer a look at different points of view, collected from comments in social networks, which show the general picture of public sentiment.

Olena, mother of an eleventh-grader: “I believe that this is the right step. Not all children want to be physicists or biologists. Allowing them to focus on subjects they are really interested in is a modern approach.”

Igor, father of a tenth-grader: “The child wants to become an artist. She is interested in the direction of art, and this choice will help her in later life. It simply does not make sense to study chemistry at an advanced level.”

Svitlana, mother of a ninth-grader: “How can you leave children without basic knowledge of natural sciences? This limits their horizons and opportunities in the future. Not everyone is determined with a specialty in high school.”

Oleksandr, father of an eleventh-grader: “The reduction of subjects will lead to the degradation of education. A universal level of knowledge should remain mandatory for every citizen.”

Views of teachers

Kateryna, biology teacher: “I am afraid that such a reform will deprive children of understanding important questions about health, ecology and science in general. What are we going to??? To the degradation of the nation??? Children will not have a broad outlook, so this cannot be allowed under any circumstances!”

Vitaly, mathematics teacher: “An individual approach is a positive thing. But it is important to ensure the availability of resources and the professionalism of teaching for the chosen disciplines.”