Children of war

Face-to-face or distance learning at school: the position of the Ministry of Education and Culture about the 2024-2025 academic year

A new academic year is approaching with new challenges and expectations. In the 2024-2025 academic year, Ukrainian schools will again face the question: how to ensure the continuity of education in the conditions of war? The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (MES) has already provided recommendations, but the final decision remains with each school. Will students be able to return to classes, or will they continue to learn remotely? Let’s take a closer look at what is currently known.

The approach of the new academic year is always accompanied by a number of preparatory measures and decisions, but this year, due to the difficult security situation, these decisions have acquired special significance. The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine provides recommendations on the form of education that can be introduced in each region, depending on the current situation.

According to official information, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports recommends to maintain face-to-face education where possible, supplementing it with a mixed form. This means that schools can combine full-time classes with distance learning, depending on the curriculum and the level of security in a particular region.

Blended learning, like last year, can include different rotation options: week after week, day after day, or even other schemes that will be determined at the local level. It is important that each educational institution has the right to independently determine the duration and form of conducting educational classes, based on the recommendations of the Ministry and local authorities.

The situation in the regions

At this moment, it is known that in most regions of Ukraine, in particular in the Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kherson and Chernihiv regions, it is planned to use a mixed form of education. This applies to those territories that are not under occupation.

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In other regions of the country, full-time education will prevail, although the situation may change depending on the current security situation. Each region and each school must be ready for an operational transition to distance or blended learning, if the circumstances require it.

Who makes the decision?

The training format may change depending on the decisions of the regional Defense Council, the orders of the heads of regional military administrations, or by the decision of the pedagogical councils of educational institutions. Each case is unique and needs to take into account the specifics of the region, the availability of safe conditions for classes and the ability of schools to provide distance learning.

It is worth noting that this academic year may become even more difficult than previous ones, given that the security situation remains unstable. Parents, students and teachers need to be prepared for rapid changes in the learning format, as well as for possible interruptions in the educational process. In this regard, many schools are already implementing additional measures to increase the level of security, including strengthening buildings, creating shelters and providing the necessary conditions for distance learning.

In addition, the psychological support of students and teachers remains equally important. The Ministry of Education and Culture has developed a number of recommendations and tools for providing psychological assistance in stressful situations, which can be useful in case of transition to distance education or during education in conditions of constant threat.

Therefore, the 2024-2025 academic year will require considerable flexibility and readiness for new challenges from all participants of the educational process. Regardless of which form of education will be chosen in a specific region, the key issue remains the safety of children and teachers. Therefore, it is important to be ready for changes and support each other during this difficult time.

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