Education without borders: MES verified 85 Ukrainian educational centers in 29 countries
During the war, Ukrainian children are forced to study far from their native schools, often combining adaptation to foreign educational systems with the preservation of the Ukrainian curriculum. The lack of constant contact with national education creates risks of loss of knowledge, linguistic identity and motivation, so the state actively supports the network of Saturday and Sunday schools abroad. They allow students to continue their studies according to Ukrainian standards and prepare for their return to Ukrainian schools without gaps in the curriculum.
Expansion of the network of Ukrainian educational centers abroad
The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine announced the completion of the next stage of the inspection of the activities of Ukrainian Saturday and Sunday schools abroad. According to the words of the Minister of Education and Science, Oksen Lisovyi, compliance with the requirements of 85 educational centers operating in 29 countries around the world has already been confirmed. These institutions were created so that Ukrainian children who were displaced by the war could continue their studies in their native language and maintain contact with the national culture and school curriculum.
Such schools mostly operate in the format of weekend classes, when students have the opportunity to combine studies in local educational systems with the study of the Ukrainian language, literature, history, and other disciplines that form the Ukrainian studies component of education. For many children who had to quickly adapt to life in a new environment, such classes become an important point of support, helping to maintain a sense of belonging to their own country and not lose touch with the Ukrainian educational tradition.
What does verification of educational centers mean?
Verification of Saturday and Sunday schools is an official verification procedure that confirms that the educational center meets the requirements of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. This procedure is carried out by a special commission with the participation of representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which evaluates the curricula, the organization of the educational process, and the compliance of teaching with Ukrainian standards.
After passing such an inspection, the school receives the right to conduct training under the Ukrainian studies component program in accordance with the requirements of Ukrainian education. This is of practical importance for students, since the results of their studies in such schools are recognized in Ukraine. Thanks to this, children who return home or continue their studies in a distance or blended form can, without additional testing and losing an academic year, transfer the grades they received to their Ukrainian schools.
Education for children living in forced emigration
For schoolchildren who were forced to leave with their families to other countries due to the war, learning often takes place in difficult conditions of adaptation to a new language, a different educational system and social environment. In such circumstances, the opportunity to attend Ukrainian educational centers plays an important role, as it helps to maintain continuity of education and avoid a situation where the child loses touch with the Ukrainian school program.
Saturday and Sunday school classes allow children to maintain knowledge of key subjects, as well as continue studying in the Ukrainian language, which is of particular importance for preserving linguistic and cultural identity. For many students, it is also an opportunity to communicate with peers from Ukraine, exchange experiences of life abroad, and maintain a sense of community during a difficult period of war.
Support for Ukrainian teachers abroad
By a separate decision adopted at the end of 2025, the state determined the procedure for crediting teaching experience to teachers working in such educational centers abroad. This means that after returning to Ukraine, their work in Saturday and Sunday schools does not lose its professional significance and is taken into account during further teaching activities.
Crediting experience is possible provided that the teacher has a documented teaching load of at least 180 hours per year. This approach is important for teachers, because teaching experience affects wages, the amount of seniority bonuses, as well as the assignment or confirmation of a qualification category during certification.
The tariff category and salary of an employee depend on the results of the certification, so state recognition of experience means that forced work abroad does not interrupt a teacher’s professional development. The acquired experience and teaching practice retain their value even after returning to the Ukrainian education system.
The development of a network of proven Ukrainian educational centers in different countries of the world has become an important step in supporting children who study far from home due to war. The opportunity to receive knowledge according to Ukrainian standards, communicate in their native language, and maintain contact with the school curriculum helps to avoid educational losses and supports the readiness of schoolchildren to return to study in Ukraine.
For many families, such a system becomes a guarantee that even in difficult circumstances of forced stay abroad, children do not lose educational prospects, and Ukrainian school remains a part of their lives, regardless of the country of residence.
