Pilot project on competition-based selection of the directors of educational institutions launched in Kyiv

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Kyiv, July 7, 2015. An Integrated approach to reforming educational institutions has been introduced in Kyiv. While no legal framework for competitive appointment of educational institution directors is yet in place, a competition-based selection for school and kindergarten directors has been launched. The pilot is taking place in the capital this month, said Hanna Starostenko, Deputy Head of the Kyiv City State Administration, at a press briefing at Ukraine Crisis Media Center.

According to Starostenko, the selection commission was tasked with choosing the best candidates publicly and transparently through independent experts. Selected candidates are expected to effectively manage educational establishments in Kyiv.

“Throughout July we have organized and held the selection. Fifty-four candidates applied, they were trained and they each wrote an essay. They had an opportunity to visit those educational establishments where they wanted to be directors and present their development concepts for these institutions,” said Mrs. Starostenko.

According to Tetyana Pospyelova, head of the selection commission, the commission established clear criteria for candidates, which include the ability to identify the problem and analyze the current situation, the ability to formulate measures to implement ideas with perspective, leadership potential, etc. “Those who demonstrated analytical skills and suggested creative approaches to problem-solving passed through the selection,” noted Pospyelova.

Oksana Proskura, candidate for director of School No. 211, believes that the selection procedure was open and transparent. “As a result, we are ready to form a new leadership culture at the city level in Kyiv. It’s a unique precedent not only in Kyiv, but in Ukraine in general,” she noted. Journalist and teacher, Serhiy Horbachyov, candidate for a school director post, said the pilot project “is a breakthrough, a departure from typical practice, a situation when posts of school directors may be taken by people who, under the typical conditions in the education sector, would not have gotten there.” Horbachyov added, “It is a development that needs to be supported.”

As of July 1, schools and kindergartens, where employment contracts expired and vacancies opened, were selected for the competition-based pilot project for school director selection. All 10 districts have agreed to the recommendations of their candidates, and are consequently submitting requests for their appointment.