“Schoolchild Package”: How the New State Payment for Parents of First-Graders Will Work

Preparing a child for school is a difficult task at any time, but in wartime it takes on an additional dimension. Many families have lost their stable income, are living in temporary housing or have returned to destroyed cities. A significant number of children will go to school for the first time after moving, evacuating or long-term online education. It is precisely for such circumstances that the government of Ukraine introduces a new targeted payment – the “Student’s Package”.

Who can get help?

On July 7, 2025, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine decided to launch this one-time assistance. It provides for the provision of 5,000 hryvnias for each child enrolled in the first grade in the new school year. About this reported Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal at a government meeting.

All parents or official guardians of children entering first grade for the first time will be eligible for payment. Education must take place in a face-to-face format, in registered public or private schools that have a license to conduct educational activities in Ukraine.

There are no restrictions on family income, social status or residence registration. This means that both internally displaced persons and those who have returned from abroad or live in frontline areas will be able to receive assistance.

The basis for payment will be the fact that the child is enrolled in the first grade. The child’s age must meet the requirements for admission to school according to Ukrainian legislation (usually 6-7 years old on September 1).

How to apply

The “Student’s Package” will be issued through the mobile application or the Diya portal. This will be a separate service that will become available after the official announcement of the start of application submission. The applicant will have to fill out an electronic form, where he will confirm the child’s data, the fact of his enrollment in school and choose the account to which the funds will go.

It is expected that the verification of information will be carried out automatically through the register of education seekers. In some cases, a certificate from the school or confirmation of the form of education may be required.

Applications will be accepted in electronic format, without the need for personal presence at the social security office. Additional documents or justification of financial need will not be required.

What can be spent on

It is assumed that the payment will be made in non-cash form. The money will go to a special account linked to the card, which will allow payment only within the defined categories of goods.

These are the following targeted costs:

• stationery (notebooks, pens, albums, pencil cases);
• school backpacks;
• clothes and shoes for a child;
• textbooks or teaching aids;
• things for physical education or classes (uniform, bags, change of shoes).

Spending on other categories of goods — such as groceries, appliances or services — will be technically blocked. A detailed list of permitted categories and a list of shops that will accept such cards for payment will be published separately by the Ministry of Social Policy.

How the payment will affect other social benefits

Separately, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal emphasized that receiving the “Student’s Package” will not be taken into account when calculating housing subsidies, assistance to low-income families or other types of payments. This means that no family will lose the right to social support due to the fact of receiving this benefit.

Payment is not regular. This is a one-time support aimed only at parents of children who are going to school for the first time in 2025.

What questions still remain open

As of July 8, the official date for accepting applications has not yet been announced. It is also not known exactly how the control over the intended use of funds will be carried out – whether it will be necessary to send checks, or whether the system of trade MCC codes (commodity categories) will be used exclusively.

The issue of children who will study in Ukraine, but are temporarily abroad and will return closer to the beginning of the school year, is also not settled. In previous “eSupport” programs and other similar payments, such situations were considered individually.

The government announced that the Ministry of Social Policy will soon publicly explain all procedural aspects, technical limitations, denial appeal mechanisms, the order of interaction with schools and the list of bodies responsible for verification.

The introduction of a new one-time payment “Student’s Package” is an attempt by the state to support families at the point when a child enters the school education system for the first time. In a situation of full-scale war, when thousands of families have lost a stable income or live in changed social conditions, such assistance reduces the costs of mandatory basic items and allows you to concentrate on the learning process itself.

The registration system through “Diya” provides for the minimization of bureaucracy, and the cashless mechanism allows funds to be directed to exactly what they are intended for. In the coming weeks, the launch of the technical implementation of the program and the publication of a complete package of accompanying information for parents is expected.