In the Odessa region, participants of the National Multi-Subject Test took almost 13 hours to take the exam due to an air raid alert. This was reported by the Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets, who has held this position since July 1, 2022.
According to the participants, the long testing led to critical exhaustion, loss of concentration, and the inability to fully complete the task.
“The premises where the NMT was conducted turned out to be practically unprepared for the conditions of martial law and regular air raid alerts. Due to constant stops, the procedure lasted from 09:00 to about 22:00 — more than 13 hours of continuous stress for children,” Lubinets noted.
He reported that during this time, the participants were not provided with proper access to water and food. Only a few children who felt sick were able to contact their parents. Later, water and food were organized thanks to the initiative of teachers and parents.
“The last blocks were performed in a state of extreme fatigue. This calls into question the objectivity of the results, equality of conditions for all participants, and the very fairness of the assessment”, — the Commissioner emphasized.
According to him, the participants were offered an additional session of the NMT, but no clear dates and guarantees were provided that the situation would not repeat.
“This is an unacceptable failure of the NMT system under martial law, which does not provide children with either safety, basic conditions, or equal opportunities and actually violates children’s rights. Such an organization of testing is unacceptable and requires an immediate response from the Ministry of Education and Science and a review of procedures”, — Lubinets emphasized.
The situation in the Odessa region became another signal about the need to revise the rules for conducting the NMT in conditions of regular air raids.
