Education without borders: how Ukraine and Germany are expanding cooperation for the sake of refugee children

After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, millions of Ukrainians found themselves in Germany in search of safety. Among them is a large number of school-aged children, for whom adaptation to the new reality began with German classes. According to official estimates, more than 200,000 Ukrainian students currently attend schools in Germany. Both countries faced a difficult but common task: not just to provide these children with access to education, but to preserve their cultural, linguistic and educational resilience. The answer to this challenge was a series of intergovernmental initiatives aimed at deepening cooperation between Ukraine and Germany in the field of school education.

During the fourth Conference of Ministers of Education of the Federal States of Germany, a meeting was held between the heads of educational departments and the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Ukraine to Germany Oleksiy Makeev. The focus is on the fate of Ukrainian children and teenagers currently studying in German schools, and the further improvement of educational formats for them. This was reported by the publication Foreign Ukraine with reference to Conference of Ministers of Education.

During the meeting, issues of joint responsibility for the organization of education for children and teenagers from Ukraine who are in Germany were raised. In particular, the possibility of creating schools in selected regions, where the educational process will be organized according to the German state program with additional elements of Ukrainian education, was discussed. It is about learning the Ukrainian language, including Ukrainian topics in the history course, and using educational materials from the Ukrainian curriculum in an adapted form. This approach is considered as an option that can simultaneously ensure integration into the system of the Federal Republic of Germany and support the educational burden for Ukrainian students.

The conference also discussed prospects for improving the qualifications of Ukrainian teachers working or preparing to work in German schools. It is about additional training for working in multicultural classes, mastering German teaching methods and integration into local pedagogical teams. The format of cooperation between Ukrainian and German educational institutions, which involves partnership, exchanges and the use of digital platforms, was discussed separately.

Ambassador of Ukraine to Germany Oleksiy Makeev thanked the ministries of education of the federal states for organizing the educational process for Ukrainian children. In his speech, he noted that language integration is an important component of adaptation, but it should not be accompanied by the complete loss of the native language. He emphasized that the study of the German language among Ukrainian children has increased significantly, and that he himself constantly calls to support this process.

At the same time, according to the ambassador, the study of the Ukrainian language as a second or third foreign language should remain available for both Ukrainian and German students. This, as he explained, allows children from Ukraine to maintain an educational connection with their country of origin, and children from Germany to familiarize themselves with the language of the country that is applying for EU membership.

President of the Conference of Ministers of Education Simone Oldenburg emphasized that the education of children from Ukraine is a task that is carried out at the level of state policy, and not a one-time initiative. She noted that Ukrainian children have a guaranteed right to education and that the ministries of education of host countries are responsible for its implementation. According to her, it is important not only to integrate students into the local environment, but also to create conditions for them to preserve their native language, cultural landmarks and potential return to the Ukrainian education system. This approach — integrative and at the same time supportive of Ukrainian identity — is one of the working models supported within the framework of interstate dialogue.

In her comment, the Minister of Education of North Rhine-Westphalia, Dorothe Feller, emphasized that since the beginning of the war, the federal states have accepted a large number of children and teenagers from Ukraine. According to her, the organization of access to school education took place with noticeable results: a large number of students currently attend general education classes and participate in regular school life. Feller also noted that older students in the country are actively offered options for dual education — that is, a combination of professional training with theoretical education, which allows them to acquire a specialty and move on to work. She emphasized that the implementation of these solutions would be impossible without the participation of teachers, in particular Ukrainian teachers, who perform the function of a communication and pedagogical bridge between systems.

Saarland Minister of Education Christine Streichert-Clivo emphasized that Ukrainian children have already become part of school communities, although many of them have experienced traumatic events as a result of the war. According to her, schools should be a space where these children receive not only education, but also the opportunity to return to a stable environment. She noted the participation of teachers, school teams, parents and classmates in the process of supporting Ukrainian students. Streichert-Clivo also noted that multilingualism and different educational experiences require solutions that take into account individual needs. In particular, we are talking about joint pilot projects that combine integration components with elements of preserving the educational burden, the Ukrainian language, and the national content. According to her, these initiatives should be based on flexible and adaptive formats.

Currently, the creation of such cooperation models is at the stage of agreement. The formats that would allow combining the resources of the German infrastructure with Ukrainian educational approaches are being discussed between the ministries. Both local solutions (integrated classes with Ukrainian language teaching) and structural models (creation of full-fledged schools with parallel programs) are considered. It is also about cooperation at the level of teaching teams, methodical exchange and personnel training. Both parties recognize that in the conditions of long-term displacement of the population and uncertainty regarding the terms of return to Ukraine, educational decisions should provide for different scenarios — without imposing assimilation and without violating the educational rights of children.