REGULATORY AND ORGANIZATIONAL FOUNDATIONS OF THE INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR PUBLIC GOVERNANCE OF EDUCATION AT THE REGIONAL LEVEL

Abstract

The article examines the regulatory and organizational foundations of the institutional framework for public governance of education in the regions of Ukraine. It is substantiated that the contemporary model of education governance is multi-level in nature and integrates the powers of central executive authorities, local state administrations, local self-government bodies, territorial bodies of state supervision (control), as well as governing bodies of educational institutions. It is determined that the core legal acts shaping the regulatory framework for regional education governance include the Constitution of Ukraine; the Laws of Ukraine “On Education,” “On Complete General Secondary Education,” “On Higher Education,” “On Professional Pre-Higher Education,” “On Vocational Education,” “On Local Self-Government in Ukraine,” and “On Local State Administrations,” along with secondary legislation of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine regulating the functioning of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the State Service for Education Quality of Ukraine, the educational subvention mechanism, and the network of hub (core) educational institutions. It is demonstrated that decentralization has significantly transformed the institutional architecture of education governance by transferring a substantial scope of powers to the level of territorial communities. At the same time, it has preserved the need for coordination, quality monitoring, resource equalization, and strategic planning at the regional level. Key challenges of institutional support are identified, including duplication of competences, uneven managerial capacity across communities, imbalance between institutional autonomy and state control functions, and fragmented coordination among regional governance actors. The study proposes key directions for improvement, namely: regulatory clarification of competences across governance levels, strengthening the strategic role of the regional (oblast) level, digitalization of administrative procedures, development of state–public governance mechanisms, and enhancement of financial instruments to ensure equal access to quality education.