“For one teacher, we have a lot of controllers today” – the director of the Kyiv Lyceum №109 on the problems in education
6 October 2025 12:18
Vitalia Polyakova, the principal of Kyiv’s gymnasium #109, spoke about the problems in education.
According to her, teachers in Ukraine have low salaries. They lack respect from society and children, respectively. Also, educators work under constant pressure from regulatory authorities.
“Teachers’ salaries are actually ridiculous. Very ridiculous. And when our country announces that there will be an additional payment of one thousand hryvnias or one thousand three hundred hryvnias, it sounds humiliating, at least, I would say, from their lips,” the director said in an interview with the YouTube channel "Komersant Ukrainian".
She emphasized that a strategic sector such as education cannot survive with such funding. This, she said, creates disrespect for teachers on the part of society.
“Teachers are made a laughingstock, and parents disrespect them. And this leads to disrespect of children, because it is an example of what is in society,” she said.
Ms. Polyakova also drew attention to the distortions in the education system and personnel problems.
“Today, I would say that our education is an inverted pyramid. Why? Because for one teacher, we have a lot of controlling, checking institutes, modernizations, academies, and so on. And there is only one teacher, and the staffing problem is extremely serious,” says the teacher.
According to her, the shortage of teachers in the exact sciences is most pronounced, because at one time the country emphasized only the humanization of education.
“And mathematics is not only about justice, but also about logic, thinking, and the formation of many areas of activity. But no one talked about it,” the director summarized.
Vitaliia Poliakova is the principal of Taras Shevchenko Lyceum #109 in Kyiv, located in the Pechersk district of the capital. She is also a PhD in Psychology (2018), a senior researcher at the Laboratory of Psychodiagnostics and Scientific and Psychological Information at the H.S. Kostiuk Institute of Psychology of the National Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of Ukraine.
on September 2, 2025, Polyakova found herself at the center of a public outcry when she did not allow students to attend class because they were wearing shorts. This incident became a topic of discussion in the media and among the parent community.
Commenting on the incident, Vitalia Polyakova explained that it was not about “fashion” or “dress code” but about the basic safety of schoolchildren. In the context of war and constant air raids, students should be dressed in such a way that in case of danger they would be comfortable and safe in shelters, she explained.
