FINANCIAL AUTONOMY OF GENERAL SECONDARY EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS: BENEFITS AND DIFFICULTIES OF IMPLEMENTATION (ON THE EXAMPLE OF CHERNIVTSI CITY TERRITORIAL COMMUNITY)

Abstract

The article considers the main legal prerequisites for receiving the financial autonomy by the general secondary education institutions in Ukraine. The main advantages of financial autonomy for the educational institutions (ability to independently dispose of available financial resources; speed and flexibility of decision making; simplification of public procurement procedures; increasing responsibility for decision-making; increasing the financial literacy) and the directions of their use of resources at their disposal (formation of the structure of the educational institution and its staff list; remuneration of employees, establishment of surcharges, allowances, remuneration, payment of material assistance and rehabilitation assistance, bonuses, other types of incentives and celebrations of employees; payment for current repairs; payment for professional development of employees; concluding agreements to ensure the activities of the educational institution) are outlined. It was emphasized that despite the many benefits of the transition to financial autonomy and the presence of such experience in Ukraine, all secondary schools of Chernivtsi City Territorial Community until January 2022 used the services of centralized accounting of the City Council Education Department. It was determined that the transition to financial autonomy did not occur due to the lack of political will of the leadership of the Department of Education, and due to the objective warnings and difficulties associated with such transition, which are considered from the point of view of heads of educational institutions (specialists in accounting and public procurement; financial literacy of managers; regulation of property issues; organization of the accounting service) and the Department of Education (reduction of centralized accounting staff; amendments to the Statutes of educational institutions; transfer of material resources to the balance of general secondary education institutions). It is concluded that the transition of general secondary education institutions to financial autonomy is one of the most important stages in the development of qualitatively new education in Ukraine, so it is avoidless, and overcoming its difficulties required good cooperation between Education Department and educational institutions.