Schools and nurseries are being merged in Nova Odesa: some establishments are being closed down

The Novo-Odesa City Council has backed a plan to optimise educational institutions for 2026–2027.

The decision was adopted at a session of the Nova Odesa City Council on 15 May, according to NikVesti.

Head of the Education Department Nadiia Molchanovska stated that the community is continuing with the reform, despite the lack of changes in legislation.

«We made this decision back in March. We are continuing to work on it. Unfortunately, there have been no changes in the legislation. We propose to move forward anyway and give educators the opportunity to work,» she said.

According to the plan, some institutions will be reorganised, while others will be merged into larger establishments. Financial autonomy is also planned for most institutions.

Some nurseries and schools will be closed due to a lack of children. For instance, the Novosafronivka primary school and nursery, which currently have no pupils, are set to be closed. Nova Odesa Nursery №3, which currently cares for six children, and Nursery №6, which has no children, will also be closed.

The plan for the optimisation and transformation of the network of educational institutions will look as follows:

• Nova Odesa Lyceum №1

Lyceum №1 will become one of the community’s key educational centres. Plans are in place to merge the Ozerne Gymnasium with it as a branch by 1 September 2026. By 2027, the local nursery is also set to be incorporated into the District Branch as a pre-school unit.

At the same time, the lyceum will gradually lose its status as a lyceum — from 1 September 2027, it is planned to be converted into a gymnasium. Enrolment of pupils into Year 10 will cease from the 2026–2027 academic year.

• Nova Odesa Lyceum №2

It is planned to merge Kindergarten №2 with Lyceum №2 as a pre-school unit. The institution will also lose its status as a lyceum and become a gymnasium from 2027.

As with other lyceums in the community, enrolment into Year 10 will cease here from 2026.

• Nova Odesa Lyceum №3

Lyceum №3 will also be transformed into a gymnasium by September 2027. The upper school will be gradually phased out — enrolment into Year 10 will cease as early as the next academic year.

• Nova Odesa Lyceum №4

Lyceum №4 will become the community’s sole academic lyceum. It will be renamed the Nova Odesa Academic Lyceum, which is intended to provide specialised upper secondary education.

It is here that the plan is to concentrate the education of senior pupils in the future.

• Pidlisne Gymnasium

The Pidlisne Gymnasium will continue to operate with a pre-school section. By 2027, the Dymivske Primary School will be merged with it as a branch, together with its nursery.

• Ozerne Gymnasium

There are plans to dissolve the Ozerne Gymnasium as a separate legal entity and merge it with Lyceum №1 as a branch.

• Troitske Gymnasium

The Troitske Gymnasium will continue to operate, and by 2027, two kindergartens — Troitske and Mykhailivka — will be merged into it. They will operate as the gymnasium’s pre-school departments.

• Dymivske Primary School

The school has up to 10 pupils. By 2027, the school is set to be merged with the Pidlisne Gymnasium as a branch. Before this, a local nursery will be merged with the school.

• Novosafronivka Primary School

The school is scheduled to be completely closed by May 2026 due to a lack of pupils.

What will happen to the nurseries

• Nursery School №1

The nursery will continue to operate as normal. The only change planned here is the introduction of financial autonomy.

• Nursery School №2

It will be merged with Lyceum №2 as a pre-school department by the end of 2026.

• Nursery №3

Due to critically low numbers of children, the institution is scheduled to be closed by the end of 2026.

• Nursery №4

It will be reorganised by merging with Nursery School №5.

• Nursery №5

The facility will continue to operate independently and will be granted financial autonomy.

• Nursery №6

The facility is effectively no longer in operation — there are no children there. It is planned to be closed by May 2026.

• Rural nurseries

The Troitske, Mykhailivka, Dymivske and Dilnyche kindergartens will lose their status as separate legal entities and become pre-school departments of schools and gymnasiums.

It should be noted that in the Mykolaiv region, 32 communities, or 62%, have already finalised their plans for the transformation of the education network, although some have yet to present their vision for the future reform of educational institutions.

It should be noted that in Mykolaiv, a network of academic lyceums is due to be approved by 1 September 2027. This concerns preparations for the reform of senior specialised schools. However, not all educational institutions are ready to enrol pupils in Years 10–12 next year, so they may lose their lyceum status.

Vitalii Kim, head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, also stated that the number of children in the region is now lower than it was before the full-scale war began. He added that the reform to reduce the number of schools is ongoing.

Read also the article by NikVesti «Educational losses in Mykolaiv’s schools: how war, anxiety and distance learning have affected children’s education».