The event brought together more than 80 participants, including town, settlement and village mayors, heads of education departments of local self-government bodies and principals of secondary schools. The focus was on discussing current issues of ensuring high-quality education in municipalities, analysing the results of monitoring studies and assessments, as well as seeking effective models of interaction between founders and educational institutions.
“There is no municipality in Kharkiv Oblast that spends less than 50% of its budget on education. Therefore, it is crucial that municipalities adhere to the principle of efficiency and seek not only to maintain or modernise institutions, but also to provide consistent and high-quality educational services for their population when spending these resources. That is why we organised this partnership event and invited experts from the State Service of Education Quality,” said Maryna Honcharenko, Head of the Regional Office of U-LEAD in Kharkiv Oblast.
Monitoring means feedback rather than control. During the event, the participants had an opportunity to learn about the results of monitoring the quality of the educational process, including distance learning, and the data of institutional capacities audit, a tool that allows municipalities to form a holistic strategy for local education development.
“Monitoring is not a control exercise, it is a tool that allows you to see the real state of affairs and respond in a timely manner. We suggest that municipalities set up self-assessment procedures, as this enables building partnerships between founders and educational institutions,” said Nataliia Shevchenko, Deputy Head of the Department – Head of the Monitoring, Certification and Oversight Department in Kharkiv Oblast of the Eastern Interregional Department of the State Service of Education Quality of Ukraine.
Institutional capacities audit as the foundation for strategic development of education. Throughout the session, much attention was paid to the institutional capacities audit of general secondary education institutions – a procedure to assess compliance with quality standards as well as to identify internal resources for the growth of educational institutions.
The institutional capacities audit is not meant as a punishment, it is instead meant as advice and a guideline. Its results can lay the groundwork for developing a strategy for the development of education in the municipality, spotlighting weaknessess and bolstering the strengths of educational institutions. This was stated by Viktoriia Kovalenko, Head of the Sector for Institutional Audit, Monitoring and Cooperation with Local Self-Government Bodies in Kharkiv Oblast.
The language issue is also about quality. A separate emphasis was placed on the Ukrainian language in the educational space, which, in the context of a full-scale war, is not only a cultural but also a security consideration. According to Svitlana Volianska, Head of the Eastern Interregional Department of the State Service of Education Quality, local self-government bodies should promote language policy in education as well as monitor its implementation.
Partnerships for quality changes. The event is a great example of how effective cooperation between local authorities, management of schools and state institutions can drive changes aimed at real improvement in the quality of education.
