Authorities in Kyiv have launched a series of learning and teaching resources for distance and hybrid learning since the start of the Russian aggression in Ukraine, in order to allow children in the country or who have fled abroad to continue learning despite the state of war. The Education and Science Ministry has launched the first such platforms in spring this year and their number continued to rise ever since, with updates for children studying back home or who have become refugees in other countries, including Romania.
A Romanian-language version of this report here.
Edupedu.ro presents a roundup of online resources provided by the Ukrainian government for children to be able to continue their studies.
- Edupedu.ro has requested supplementary information from the Education Ministry in Ukraine repeatedly but has yet to receive answers – we will publish them as soon as we receive them
Resources for the organisation of learning
The platform “Ukrainian Education in Emergency” was launched in May this year. It is addressed to education ministries and to managers of international educational and Teachers organisations, in order to help them provide support to Ukrainian Children living in other countries in their effort to adopt to new systems and curricula.
The website includes a description of the Ukrainian education system and information on the curriculum and the organisation of learning by cycle:
Sections for pre-primary, professional and higher education have not been updated with relevant Information so far.
The website includes a list of international Ukrainian schools which are operated by the Ukrainian state for students living abroad. The list is available here. It does not mention any such Institution in Romania.
And the same website includes a Q7A on common issues such as the organisation of learning for Ukrainian students, existing e-learning resources and so on, as well as a page of useful contact information.
School books and textbook resources
When it comes to online resources to be used by/for Ukrainian children, the platform mentions that any resource for group or individual activities can be used, but suggests the All-Ukrainian Online School website and application (Google Play, App Store, App Gallery), which includes resources for grades 5-11. For primary school children, a time organiser with online video resources is suggested, including Youtube live feeds.
A virtual library containing over 1335 manuals and textbooks was updated this month. It includes the electronic versions of textbooks for various studies in grades 1-11, for Ukrainian students, students belonging to national minorities and students with special education needs.
These are aimed to insure the possibility of learning under martial law conditions, as an Ukrainian Education Ministry announcement said: no matter where they are, teachers and students can use common content, will receive materials to train their skills and will be able to access an extended multimedia data base.
Free access to education materials on other platforms:
- Educațion without borders
- Educational textbooks provided by EdPro company, with free access until end of year
- All-Ukrainian School online (mentioned above)
Resources for pre-school education as selected by the Ukrainian Education Ministry are available here.
Domestic support and an appeal for helping schools affected by war
The same ministry makes regular announcements on local initiatives to support education during war time. Among others, the ministry in Kyiv announced:
- In the region of Lvyv, where 55% of students currently study face to face, an educational hub was launched with the purpose, among other things, to provide support for those who have left their home towns because of war and settled in this region.
- Measures to support refugees in professional schools in the region of Dnipropetrovsk.
A website with assistance needs of schools Ukraine during war time, including the reconstruction of those which have been destroyed by war, has also been developed and is available here. A generic form to provide help for whose who are interested in contributing is available here.
The state of Ukrainian children refugees across Europe
Data collected by the European Eurydice network by end of May this year and published in a July 2022 report suggest major differences between European countries when it comes to the number of school-aged children received on their territories since the start of the Russian invasion. The biggest estimates have been declared by Poland (some 530,000 children), Germany (290,000 children) and the Czech Republic (70,500 children). Romania, Spain and Slovakia are among the countries hosting about 30-40,000 school-aged children from Ukraine.
While some countries such as Italy or Austria report that more than 70% and 60% respectively of Ukrainian children there have been enrolled in school programs and the percentage drops to about 40% in Germany or Poland, only 8% of Ukrainian school-aged children in Romania have been enrolled in local schools.
- Note: In Italy, Austria or Germany support is mainly provided for distance learning, while officially Romania and Poland provide help for both distance learning and through Ukrainian-language groups/classes. Eurydice insists on the significant differences in how countries report data on the issue.
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Matei Pop
Rainer Ohliger and Raphaela Schweiger