Ministry of Education and Science elaborates solutions to modernize the school transportation system, taking into account the specific needs of communities

The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine hosted a working meeting attended by representatives of the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriiculture, the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development, members of parliament, relevant government agencies, the Federation of Employers of Ukraine, and bus manufacturers.

The discussion focused on the possibility of improving the logistics of transporting children to educational institutions during wartime, taking into account the development of a network, within the framework of senior specialized school reform and community needs, in accordance with local conditions.

The meeting was chaired by Oksen Lisovyi, Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine. Deputy Ministers Dmytro Zavhorodnii, Anastasia Sofienko, and Nadiya Kuzmychova also participated.

“We must adapt the school transportation system to wartime conditions and the real needs of communities. In many cases, this means moving away from one-size-fits-all solutions: where there are few children, challenging terrain, or narrow roads, standard large buses simply don’t work. We need more flexible approaches, particularly small-capacity vehicles, which will allow us to organize transportation effectively. The main thing is that every child, regardless of the region or locality where they live, has the opportunity to get to school safely and regularly,” said Oksen Lisovyi, Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine.

In particular, they discussed the most optimal approaches that would allow communities to choose from several options when purchasing school buses, based on their specific needs. Currently, the Ministry of Education and Science is preparing a survey for communities to determine the actual need for different types of school buses, which may take into account factors such as passenger capacity and off-road capability.

Work has also begun to adapt the use of state subsidies for school buses to the actual needs of communities. Specifically, this involves the possibility of purchasing small-capacity buses (category M2) equipped for the safe transportation of children. A separate discussion focused on changing the approach to fund allocation to more accurately reflect the needs of communities.

Based on the information gathered, the Ministry will continue discussions with Ukrainian manufacturers regarding the production and potential future procurement of these types of buses.

As a reminder, UAH 2 billion has been allocated for the purchase of more than 540 school buses to transport children to educational institutions in 2026. Of these, approximately 200 will be available for purchase by communities in frontline regions.