The Ministry of Education and Science has canceled the scandalous order: IDP children will be able to continue their education under the old conditions
The resonance caused by the recent order of the Ministry of Education and Science to limit distance learning opportunities for internally displaced children has forced the government to reconsider its position. The document, which caused the indignation of parents, teachers, public organizations and deputies, was officially recognized as erroneous. Its cancellation was a recognition of the inability of the national education policy to quickly and sensitively respond to the needs of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian children who were forced to leave their homes due to the war.
The scandalous order of the Ministry of Education and Culture: restrictions that ignored reality
In June 2025, the MES issued an order that significantly complicated the conditions for distance learning. It was assumed that the creation of classes is possible only if there is full parallelism, and the minimum number of students in a distance class should be 8 people. Such requirements did not take into account either the real demographic situation in war zones, or the peculiarities of evacuation, when children are scattered across different regions and countries, often without the opportunity to join the school team offline.
Families of internally displaced persons and heads of schools in front-line communities reacted most acutely to the new restrictions. They emphasized that the new rules actually deprive many children of access to education, forcing them to either change schools or drop out due to lack of technical and social opportunities.
Numerous appeals by people’s deputies were heard in the parliament calling for the order to be canceled as it contradicts the principle of equal access to education. Representatives of the regions most affected by Russian aggression – Donetsk region, Luhansk region, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson region, and Kharkiv region – especially insisted on this. In the end, the Ministry of Education and Culture was forced to admit the fallacy of the approach.
What has changed in the distance learning rules
The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine officially canceled Order No. 1112, which determined the procedure for organizing distance learning in institutions of general secondary education. In addition, the department reported on the removal of certain provisions from Order No. 1115 — in particular, those that established the minimum number of students in distance classes and formulated special educational conditions for children who were forcibly displaced as a result of the war.
From now on, from September 1, 2025, IDP children will once again be able to continue studying in their schools in a remote form – regardless of where they are physically located now. This means that there will be no requirement to change the educational institution due to moving or lack of attendance in a new city.
At the same time, other provisions were revised:
- The minimum number of students in a remote class will be 5 people, instead of 8, as previously planned. This makes it possible to form full-fledged classes even in small communities or in conditions when students are in different regions and countries, but want to study together with their teachers.
- A full line of parallels is not required to open a distance class. A school will be able to create a separate class, even if it does not have all other parallel classes of the same link. This will allow small and rural schools to remain living centers of education for their community.
- Educational institutions working with children in the temporarily occupied territories retain their status and powers. Their teachers will continue to work with children using the format of pedagogical patronage — individual support of learning in extremely difficult conditions.
Despite the humanitarian flexibility, the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Uzbekistan leaves in place a key requirement for educational institutions — face-to-face and mixed forms of education are possible only if there is a shelter in the school or no further than 500 meters from it. This provision is maintained as a safety standard and applies to all forms of education except fully distance learning. Therefore, even if a school is willing to accept students offline but does not have a shelter, it will not have the legal right to do so.
Ukrainian education abroad: distance and Ukrainian studies model
Special emphasis is placed on children who are outside Ukraine. Two forms of education remain available to them:
– a complete distance learning program in all subjects, which allows you to keep in touch with the Ukrainian educational system, to complete the DPA and external examination;
– the Ukrainian studies component is a simplified model that includes the basics of the language, literature, history and culture of Ukraine for those children who study in local schools of other countries, but want not to lose contact with their homeland.
These approaches not only preserve identity, but also allow painless integration into the educational process in case of return to Ukraine.
As reported by the Ministry of Education and Science, the changes that have now been officially announced will be fixed by a separate regulatory document. For this, consultations will be held with the specialized committee of the Verkhovna Rada, the expert environment and public organizations. It is expected that the final decision will be made before the beginning of the new academic year, with detailed implementation mechanisms and recommendations for territorial education management bodies.
The cancellation of the order, which threatened to limit the educational rights of the children of internally displaced persons, became an important sign that, in the conditions of war, the state still hears the voice of society. This is a recognition of the need to think in terms of reality for children of war, rather than normative convenience.
