Lessons from 10 a.m. and postponement of holidays: what will the new school year be like (video)
Winter promises to be difficult. Due to the destruction of the energy infrastructure, under worst-case scenarios, during the coldest periods, Ukrainians may remain without electricity and heating for 10 hours. How will the academic year in schools, colleges and universities continue in such conditions, said the head of the Ministry of Education of Ukraine, Oksen Lisovyi, during question time to the government in the parliament.
Currently, the Ministry of Education and Science has two approaches. One will be used for universities and institutions of vocational education and training, and the second – for schools.
“First of all, we work with study schedules and timetables. Today, we have already developed a letter of recommendation to start the school year earlier, in the warm season, in institutions of higher education, vocational higher education and vocational technical schools. We also plan to make the winter vacation longer and finish the academic year later.” – notes Oksen Lisovyi.
In schools, training will traditionally begin on September 1. It is possible to shift the study schedule and partially return to distance and mixed learning.
“Regarding schools, we will not start the school year earlier. We plan to work with class schedules, shifting the start of classes, where possible. Where there is no shift training, the start of classes at school will be moved to 10 o’clock in the morning. We are currently working on these recommendations. “, – said the minister.
The second direction, on which the Ministry of Education and Science is currently working, is the provision of educational institutions with technical means.
“The provision of technical means for an uninterrupted supply of electricity and heating falls on the shoulders of local self-government bodies. Today, about 30% of our educational institutions are provided with generation, but this generation is different. It is quite powerful, which allows us to work fully, if we are talking about institutions of general secondary education . There are also weak generation means that only allow the work of unbreakable points, which are mostly located in educational institutions., – said Oksen Lisovyi.
In extreme cases, during peak hours, according to the minister, a return to mixed or online education is possible.
According to People’s Deputy Victoria Syumar, if due to interruptions in the electricity supply in schools it will not be possible to ensure the learning process at the proper level, a new wave of migration may begin – mothers of schoolchildren will leave with their children abroad so that they can study without interruptions.
Also, the deputy does not understand how it will be possible to organize the process of online education if there will be no light for hours in winter.
“No one knows how to provide teachers and students with uninterrupted Internet in conditions of blackouts. It seems that parents themselves should take care to have uninterrupted power sources, at least at home for studying.” – says Victoria Syumar.
