Education in Times of War

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The invasion initiated by Russia on February 24, 2022, featured troop movements and armed conflicts in that region and produced an uncertain future for many in Ukraine.

In education, this armed conflict has added to the “new normal” after the COVID-19 pandemic; the new disruption in its ranks has been war.

The statistics of war-time education

According to UNICEF, recent regional conflicts have affected more than five million children. The UN Refugee Agency reports that as of July 11, 2023, more than six million Ukrainian refugees, including students and teachers, had dispersed globally.

For its part, Ukraine’s Ministry of Education and Science reports that the educational situation in Ukraine has been discouraging, with only a third of elementary students attending classes in 2022.

In addition to this, the incessant bombings and attacks in many regions of Ukraine have not distinguished between military and civilian targets, creating a devastating reality for the Ukrainian population:

Adversity and access to education

Education in Ukraine (although prepared by the COVID-19 pandemic) has had to adapt to various regional circumstances. In higher education, for example, classes have become entirely online, except for practice subjects such as labs, which must be taken in safe areas or in shelters that universities provide.

Blackouts, insecurity, a shortage of well-maintained educational facilities, and unstable internet connections due to bombings and Russian attacks have wreaked havoc in vast regions of Ukraine, affecting access to education at various levels.

However, organizations such as UNICEF, UNESCO, Google, Microsoft, and the LEGO Foundation, among others, have been vital in re-establishing and continuing educational work in the region, as they have provided educational materials and psychosocial support, ensuring access to formal and non-formal education.

Online education as an alternative

Education in Ukraine has continued through non-scholastic or hybrid modalities; however, it has been challenging.

Preschool and primary education have received the most brutal hits, as many parents or guardians have decided not to send their children to school due to persistent war conditions, which has caused more than 1.9 million children to study online, and 1.3 million to undergo a hybrid scheme.

Higher education, like other educational levels, has opted for non-scholastic or hybrid systems, the difference being more flexibility. In this sense, they have delivery times that are not restrictive (more relaxed) and the option to study the contents asynchronously.

The resistance

Although the outlook looks bleak in many ways, efforts to access education persist. Neighboring countries such as Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, among others, have offered help, assistance, and protection. Other countries such as Belarus, Romania, and Hungary report that many refugees have enrolled in educational institutions in their region and vocational training courses and workshops to continue their preparation.

Specifically, more than 100 universities in the United Kingdom have come together to support university education in Ukraine through the program UK-Ukraine Twinning Initiative, coordinated by Cormack Consultancy Group and the President of Education, Science, and Sports of Ukraine.

The latter is based on a model of cooperation among universities to provide assistance and education through various activities, for example, scholarship programs, double majors, mobility programs, preservation of archives or cultural artifacts of Ukraine in the United Kingdom, sharing academic resources and databases, and technical expertise for the areas of knowledge requiring it (e.g., medicine).

In this way, universities worldwide have come together to contribute various support, ranging from mental health and well-being to financial (fundraising, accommodation, free registration) and academic (guidance and scholarships) for Ukrainian upper-level education students who want to continue their studies.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Education and Science recently published an initiative called School; We Are Together! focused on secondary education. This project prioritizes the construction of new school shelters and the reconstruction of educational buildings, the printing of textbooks (according to needs), supplies to ensure learning (educational materials, laptops, tablets, etc.), and the development of a program to avoid further academic lag and initiate de-bureaucratization in schools.

Similarly, more initiatives by globally renowned brands have restored education, such as the LEGO Foundation, which has distributed 300 laptops to educational institutions in Ukraine to ensure the continuity of online education. They have also partnered with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine to launch a mental health and psychosocial support module for preschool and primary school teachers.

Finally, Lego has collaborated with UNICEF in the border regions of Ukraine to create the Blue Dot Hubs and the Play, Learning, and Parenting Center to provide aid and assistance to children and families in need along the main escape routes.

For their part, UNESCO, the Global Education Coalition, Google, and Microsoft have raised $51 million in materials and cash to support education in Ukraine. Google has donated 50,000 Chromebooks, while Microsoft has given teachers and students free access to software to use online or offline. This program benefits over 350,000 children in Ukraine’s southern and eastern regions.

How can we help?

Interested NGOs, company representatives, charities, and influential public opinion figures can find various ways to support and be part of the educational cause in the region on the official website of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.

Direct donations can also be made on the official fundraising page for Ukraine, called UNITED24, which is an initiative of various charities, donor partners, and public figures, like actor Mark Hamill, presenter Bear Grylls, astronaut Scott Kelly, and Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine Paul Nurse, among others.

Thus, it is possible to assist Ukraine in various areas: defense of Ukraine, humanitarian aid, medical services, reconstruction, and education and science. In addition to direct donations, you can participate in the projects of the ambassadors of the platform, such as Game4Ukraine, where you can buy a ticket to see a football match at the Stamford Bridge stadium, home of FC Chelsea, to benefit the Ukrainian cause.

Although the war persists, education in Ukraine can now see a ray of hope thanks to the international cooperation of organizations and decision-makers.

Now more than ever, we thank and recognize all those superheroes who do not wear a cape and tirelessly work for the future of education in Ukraine.

Translation by Daniel Wetta

This article from Observatory of the Institute for the Future of Education may be shared under the terms of the license CC BY-NC-SA 4.0