Parents and teachers at Kyiv's art lyceum complain about chaos following leadership change

A tense situation has developed at the Taras Shevchenko Art Lyceum in the capital. Teachers and students' parents are complaining about systemic chaos that arose after the change in the institution's leadership. Among the main problems are the absence of free lunches, constant changes to the class schedule, the dismantling of patriotic exhibits, and the appearance of new employees whose positions raise doubts.

Controversial explanations regarding personnel

A team of journalists who visited the lyceum recorded strange situations in the institution's corridor. A man waiting for a meeting initially denied that he had come for an interview, but acting director Alevtina Kahidze called him an administration employee. The versions of the head and the man himself regarding his status differ significantly, and there is currently no documentary confirmation of his position.

According to teachers, the staff is concerned that military-liable men have appeared among the new employees. The institution previously posted job vacancies on the Work.ua website with a promise of 100% exemption from mobilisation. In response to a direct question from journalists about the number of such individuals, Alevtina Kahidze replied that there are five. Whether their employment is linked to obtaining military exemption requires verification.

Official lyceum statistics indicate that the staff is calculated for 159 positions, but in fact, 102 people are working. Since the beginning of 2026, 20 new employees have been hired at the institution without conducting competitions, as the management explains, the law does not require this. There are no protocols from competition committees, and the institution does not keep statistics on the experience and workload of new employees.

Problems with the organisation of the educational process

Students' parents have noted that as of the beginning of October 2026, the lyceum still does not have a stable class schedule. Senior teacher of mathematics and physics Iryna Osowska notes that the timetable can vary from day to day.

In addition, the institution does not provide children with free hot meals, although this is provided for by Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 809 dated 24 June 2026. Deputy head of the general education cycle, Oksana Mykhailivna, explains that the management reported that documents were submitted on time, but funding allegedly did not arrive, which prevented the tender from being conducted:

«Просто так було повідомлено, що своєчасно всі документи подані… і просто не було фінансування, тому вона не змогла провести тендер» (It was simply reported that all documents were submitted on time... and there was simply no funding, so she could not conduct the tender).

An additional problem is the technical condition of the premises: during air raids, children are forced to sit in a shelter in a damp room due to faulty ventilation. Meanwhile, it has become known that the acting director herself was abroad: a video appeared online showing Alevtina Kahidze tasting pastries in Berlin.

Criticism of the new head's management style

Olena Avramenko led the lyceum for over 30 years, who, by her own admission, grew up within these walls. After her dismissal, the duties of the acting head passed to Alevtina Kahidze, a well-known artist. Although her artistic achievements are beyond doubt, no information was found regarding her experience in the position of director. According to the deputy head, it turned out during the hiring process that the first entry in Kahidze's employment record book is precisely this director position.

Teachers complain about the lack of dialogue with the management. Iryna Osowska says that colleagues repeatedly asked the new head to outline an action plan, but she ignores their advice:

«Колеги намагалися з нею наводити якісь стосунки, підказували, як працювати, але вона слухати їх не хоче. Вона робить лише свої висновки, а потім говорить, що ми їй не допомагаємо» (Colleagues tried to establish some kind of relationship with her, gave hints on how to work, but she does not want to listen to them. She only draws her own conclusions, and then says that we are not helping her).

Parents also note the lack of transparency. The mother of a student, Kateryna, says that the director is practically never on site, and the responses in the parents' chat are verbose but lack specific information. Marina, the mother of an 11th grader who plans to apply to the P. I. Chonnenko National Academy of Fine Arts (NAOMA), is concerned that as of mid-September, she did not know the schedule and had heard about subject cuts:

«Я би хотіла бачити більш прозоро, і мені здається, це вже запізно в вересні вирішувати, які предмети саме у нас будуть» (I would like to see more transparency, and I think it is already too late in September to decide exactly which subjects we will have).

Fate of patriotic exhibits and the museum

With the arrival of new management, the space near the lyceum entrance, where children's works and patriotic stands were previously exhibited, was cleared. In response to journalists' questions about why the image of Taras Shevchenko and the inscriptions "Glory to Ukraine" and "Let us unite" were removed, Alevtina Kahidze replied that the previous exhibition was "tasteless". No new exhibitions have appeared as a replacement yet.

The "Blockpost of Memory" museum, founded by serviceman and volunteer Pavlo Netyosov, is also under threat. Since 2014, personal belongings of fallen defenders, photos from the front, and materials about the Russian-Ukrainian war have been preserved here. Some of the exhibits are placed in ammunition crates.

According to representatives of the public organisation "Citadel", Alevtina Kahidze advocated for the removal of the exhibition from the lyceum premises. Pavlo Netyosov says that the new management did not want to study the collection in detail but simply demanded that the premises be vacated:

«Написали листа на Міністерство культури з тим, що там якісь незрозумілі люди, там навіть назви нашої організації нема. Якісь предмети схожі на вибухонебезпечні і їм написали негайно звільнити» (They wrote a letter to the Ministry of Culture stating that there are some unknown people there, and even our organisation's name is not there. Some items look like explosives, and they were told to vacate immediately).

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Culture informed that competitions for the positions of directors of art lyceums will only begin after the cancellation of martial law. The selection will be conducted in accordance with the Regulation on the Competition, approved by the Ministry of Culture Order No. 348 dated 20 May 2021. Until that time, the institution remains under the leadership of Alevtina Kahidze, who receives a salary of 41,000 hryvnia. The question of who actually benefits from the current staffing decisions remains open.