300,000 schoolchildren plan to return to full-time education, but the MES does not know how many schools do not have shelters

The Ministry of Education and Science (MES) presented a new policy called “Offline School” aimed at returning 300,000 schoolchildren to full-time education. According to representatives of the Ministry of Education and Culture, this step is aimed at improving the quality of education in Ukraine.

“Offline school” is part of the order of the Ministry of Education and Culture No. 850 of June 13, 2024. The document provides for new conditions and procedures for obtaining general secondary education in communal institutions under martial law. The changes will come into effect on September 1, 2025.

At the moment, almost a million children are studying remotely: about 600,000 in Ukraine and almost 400,000 abroad. The Ministry of Education and Culture claims that the remote form of education does not allow children to fully socialize, and frequent power outages complicate the educational process. According to the Ministry of Education and Culture, the state has allocated 2.5 billion hryvnias for the construction of shelters, and 57 projects have already been financed that will provide safe education for 25,000 children. However, the need for shelters is much greater – it is necessary to build another 165 shelters in eight front-line and border regions.

In case of impossibility of building shelters, communities will purchase buses to take children to schools with existing shelters. The government allocated 1 billion hryvnias for these needs. In addition, gadgets will be purchased for students and teachers who cannot return to face-to-face education. Their need will be determined at the beginning of the academic year.

Education for internally displaced children

According to the order of the Ministry of Education and Culture No. 850, children who were forced to move due to the war must study at the school in their place of residence. To transfer a child to a new school, it is necessary:

• Check the availability of free places on the website of the Institute of Educational Analytics.
• Submit an application to the chosen school.
• Inform your current school about the transfer.

If there is no shelter or free places at the new school, students will be able to continue distance learning at their school, provided that there are at least 20 children in the class. Otherwise, the child will be transferred to another school that provides distance learning.

New requirements for distance learning

The Ministry of Education and Culture introduces new requirements for remote work of schools:

• Minimum of 20 students per class.
• Availability of at least one class for all years of study: from 1 to 9 or from 5 to 11 grades.
• Synchronous learning using digital tools.

Distance classes can function in fully distance schools or in schools that work full-time or in a mixed form.

New formats for TOT

For children who are in the temporarily occupied territories, new formats of education are being introduced, including individual education (pedagogical patronage):

• The teacher adjusts the study schedule to the capabilities and needs of the student.
• Teaching is conducted by teachers to whom the child is accustomed.
• The number of hours for student counseling is increasing.

If the school in the temporarily occupied territory meets the requirements for remote classes, the child can continue studying there.

Children abroad

Children who are abroad often study at the same time in local and Ukrainian schools, thus receiving a double load. To avoid this, the Ministry of Education and Culture introduced the Ukrainian studies component. These are subjects that children will be able to study remotely – Ukrainian language and literature, history of Ukraine, defense of Ukraine, geography, etc. At the same time, other subjects from foreign schools will be re-enrolled.

Provision of shelters

One of the main conditions for the operation of schools in face-to-face mode is the availability of shelters, which is logical in wartime conditions. On request ZN.UA, the agency noted that there are 10,111 shelters in general secondary education institutions in Ukraine. However, the Ministry of Education and Culture does not know how many schools do not have shelters, does not conduct relevant surveys and is not the manager of this information.

The Ministry of Education and Science assures that it is aware of the problem with shelters and is working on its solution in the front-line and border areas. One of the ways to solve it is considered state subvention for the construction of shelters, 57 projects have already been approved for eight front-line and border regions of Ukraine.