Ukraine is undergoing a large-scale transformation of its education system, which takes into account both the security challenges of wartime and the need for high-quality modern education. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal spoke about the main areas of change during the Teachers of the Future 2025 education festival, which took place in Lviv.
The government’s key priority at the moment is to ensure the safety of students. According to Shmyhal, more than 6 billion hryvnias will be allocated in 2024 to equip shelters in schools, which will allow children to return to face-to-face learning even in frontline regions. As part of this initiative, about 200 school shelters equipped with the necessary infrastructure are already being built in Ukraine.
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In addition to shelters, new security officer positions are being created in schools, who will be responsible for responding quickly to threats and maintaining a safe educational environment. This innovation is a direct response to the circumstances of wartime and is aimed at strengthening the protection of both students and school staff.
Another important area is ensuring transport accessibility to schools. According to the head of government, up to 500 school buses are purchased each year, and this need should be fully met in the near future, which is especially important for remote and rural communities.
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At the same time, the free school meals programme is being expanded. It currently covers primary school pupils and will be extended to children in frontline areas from September. In the future, the state plans to make free meals available to all schoolchildren in the country.
As part of the ‘Offline School’ initiative, more than 164,000 students have already returned to face-to-face learning. By the end of the programme, the government plans to return at least 300,000 schoolchildren to classrooms.
In parallel with security measures, Ukraine continues to implement the New Ukrainian School (NUS) reform and modernise vocational and technical education, in particular by renovating workshops and the material and technical base of vocational schools.
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