The Government of Ukraine, within the framework of implementation of five drastic reforms, gives green light to the pilot projects of the national program "New Ukrainian School" and leaves investing in education as well as further increase of teacher salaries among the core objectives. This was stated by Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman during a special teleconference dedicated to the preparation for the new academic year. The said event was held as a part of the Prime Minister’s working visit to Dnipropetrovsk region.

«We are starting the program "New Ukrainian School". Education is a priority for us and only once in a life person can get a high-quality pre-school and school education and our goal is to provide access to such opportunity, thereby young people can become professional figures in the future. We also set a core objective aimed to raise teacher wages by 50%. We are keen on supporting this direction, moreover funds for these purposes will be included in the state budget. We have to return teachers who due to low wages went to look for a better job», Volodymyr Groysman stressed.

The Prime Minister recalled that in order to achieve the said goals, the Government will promote work in several directions, namely to continue the process of the establishment of hub schools that are already make up the number of 380, to purchase school buses and to meet educational needs in mountainous and rural areas. Appropriate instructions have already been given to line ministries, including the Ministry of Regional Development, Building and Housing and Communal Services of Ukraine and the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine. A special emphasis was placed on ensuring the educational environment - from repairing schools to the complete provision of textbooks already from September 1, as well as addressing the issue of school overload and reducing the queue at preschool institutions. The Head of Government expressed confidence that the problem of queues in kindergartens can be solved within three years by the joint efforts of the Government and local authorities, which due to decentralization possess sufficient resources. «Local budgets have grown by UAH 100 billion as a result of the decentralization process. I think we will approve a (government) decision and will oblige the local authorities to solve the problem (building of kindergartens). Budget funds should work for the benefits of Ukrainian kids», the Head of Government underlined.

In a separate statement Volodymyr Groysman pointed out that urban development should take place taking into account social needs - kindergartens, schools and hospitals and urged local authorities to heed his words.