A New Academic Year: Educational Challenges and Opportunities
On September 1, a new academic year commenced for 3.5 million children in Ukraine.
Out of these, approximately 2.3 million will be learning in-person. The number of students opting for online learning has decreased by 103,000 over the past year, as reported by Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.
Chairman of the Education Committee of the Verkhovna Rada, Serhiy Babak, noted that 10% of Ukrainian students are learning online or through alternative methods, as they are either abroad (about 303,000) or in temporarily occupied territories (over 35,000).
This year, around 12,000 schools will be operational in Ukraine. More than 8,000 will provide in-person education, 2,500 will have a mixed format, and 1,500 will conduct distance learning.
Earlier, Deputy Minister of Education and Science Nadiya Kuzmychova mentioned that the majority of children learning remotely are still enrolled in schools from Kharkiv, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Additionally, there are currently 56 relocated schools operating in Ukraine, as reported by Minister of Education and Science Oksen Lisovyi.
“Today, four relocated schools from Donetsk are opening their doors for children in new cities. In total, 56 relocated schools across the country mean that children remain part of their educational community,” the head of the ministry wrote.
Yulia Svyrydenko also shared plans to open 203 new shelters in schools by the end of 2026.
Previously, Nadiya Kuzmychova reported that 221 underground schools are being constructed in Ukraine. Of these, 33 will open on September 1, and by the end of the year, an additional 156 facilities are expected to be completed, enabling more than 100,000 children to return to their studies.
