The armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine has caused numerous problems in the educational process that need to be urgently addressed at the state level. The rights of children and young people to education are constantly violated due to shelling, destruction of schools and difficulties in accessing educational services.
Shelling and destruction of educational institutions
Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, 3,798 educational institutions have been hit by shelling, 365 of which have been completely destroyed. Every seventh school in our country has been affected. The quality of the educational process is also reduced due to the interruption of learning due to shelling and air raids. As a result, about 900,000 students are forced to study online. However, distance education does not provide the same level of learning as face-to-face education, especially given the problems with power supply caused by the strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
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Access to education for applicants from TOT
The issue of access to education for children from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine (TOT) is worth a separate mention. The state has already begun work on developing new approaches to ensuring access to education for children from TOT. Recently, the Ombudsman’s Office hosted a meeting of the working group on the preparation of the Concept of Access to the Right to Education for Youth from the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine. It should ensure equal opportunities for quality education at all levels for young people from TOT, and facilitate their successful integration into the educational sphere and society as a whole.
It is important to create conditions for children from TOT to enter Ukrainian educational institutions. In 2016, Ukraine launched a simplified admission system for people from TOT through the Crimea-Ukraine and Donbas-Ukraine educational centres. However, according to statistics, the number of children from TOT enrolling in Ukrainian educational institutions is decreasing every year. This problem needs to be addressed immediately.
Availability of shelters and logistics
Despite the hostilities, Ukraine continues to look for solutions to ensure the right to education. Innovative methods are being introduced, including the construction of underground classrooms and schools where children can study even during air raids. This is an important step to ensure the safety of children and support the educational process. However, the pace of implementation leaves much to be desired: in the third year of the full-scale invasion, not all educational institutions have yet been sheltered. The government has set a goal to provide 100% of educational institutions with bomb shelters by the end of 2024. I hope that this goal will be achieved.
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Access to education for children abroad
Another important challenge facing the state is the protection of the right to education for children abroad. Some of them study simultaneously in Ukrainian and foreign schools, which creates an additional burden for students. It is important to ensure that they have the opportunity to receive Ukrainian education without compromising their physical and mental health. Ukrainian education can become an anchor that will not allow children to forget about their homeland and return to Ukraine in the future.
Working conditions for teachers
In addition to protecting the rights of children, it is important to pay attention to the working conditions of teachers. Article 61 of the Law of Ukraine “On Education” stipulates that the salary of a teacher of the lowest qualification category shall be set at three minimum wages. In 2024, this is at least UAH 24,000. However, in practice, salaries are often much lower.
I opened proceedings on this issue and provided recommendations to the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance. The Ministry of Education reported that additional expenditures from both the state and local budgets in the amount of at least UAH 300 billion would be required to pay salaries of at least UAH 24,000.
The Ukrainian education system is facing many challenges due to the war, but there are several key steps that will preserve and improve access to education for all children: developing and implementing reintegration programmes for children from TOT and internally displaced persons, increasing the number of state-funded places for applicants from TOT, providing material and technical support to educational institutions and improving working conditions for educators. I call on the responsible government agencies to work more quickly and effectively in this direction.
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