School education under attack in Ukraine due to Russian invasion

Frequent anti-aircraft alarms interrupt school classes throughout Ukraine, which has a negative impact on the quality of the education, which has been affected by the destruction of hundreds of schools and the displacement of millions of children and its teachers.

Almost 400 schools and other educational centers have been completely destroyed since the start of the Russian invasion, while the total number of damaged facilities reaches three thousand, according to the country’s Ministry of Education.

However, even in those areas where schools have been left intact, students and their teachers cannot escape the effects of the Russian invasion.

“Classes, both online and in person, are interrupted during each air alarm. “Sometimes it is only possible to teach one complete lesson a day”writes Nadia Kelm, journalist and mother of two schoolchildren, in an article.

In kyiv alone, the threat of Russian attacks has made it impossible to hold at least 37 classes in each school in recent months, Kelm said. The impact has been greater since November and the risk of power outages due to Russian missile and drone attacks has also increased.

The lack of predictable interaction with teachers, who are also overloaded, demotivates children, Kelm emphasizes. It makes them lose interest in their studies, while parents often lack the time and skills to help their children at home.

Gaps in educational levels widen

“The gaps in learning are enormous. “Many children are three or four years behind what they are expected to know at this point.”explains Olga Ivashura, a Ukrainian language teacher at a private school in Kropivnitski (center).

For many it is simply too difficult to concentrate on their studies. “Some had their homes destroyed and their families killed. Many have family members fighting in the army”explains Ivashura.

The children from the front areas are the ones who have suffered the most, explains the teacher. Many lack the proper equipment, such as laptops, to make the most of the learning material available online.

Oleksí Uchirov, 11 years old, from Zaporizhzhia (south), has only attended school in person for one of the five years he has studied there. After two years of pandemic followed by the full-scale Russian invasion, schools are operating online in this city, located just 40 kilometers from the front line.

Classes in digital format are interrupted every day by multiple aerial alarms, explains Evguenia, Oleksí’s mother.

“As soon as the alarm sounds, class is interrupted so that the children have time to go to the bomb shelters,” underlines.

The responsibility of helping her son cover material that has not been discussed in class falls on Evguenia’s shoulders. However, she can barely do it after a long day at work.

Teachers mobilize

To try to overcome educational gaps, various initiatives are being developed. Along with hundreds of other teachers, Ivashura has tried to help thousands of children under “Educational Soup” (educational support), a mentoring project run by the NGO “Teach for Ukraine” (Teach for Ukraine).

It focuses on filling the deficiencies that Ukrainian children have in the knowledge of two key subjects: Ukrainian language and mathematics. They attend additional online classes several times a week, with teachers trained to focus on the needs of each participant.

Each course has a maximum duration of eight weeks, as the project aims to help as many children as possible. However, smaller groups and a more individual approach help achieve significant results even during this relatively short time, says Ivashura.

“We teach children to learn. These skills help them after finishing our project,” Explain. Much attention is also paid to the emotional well-being of children.

“If we worry more about what the children feel, many of them are very stressed, they open up. Only after all the pain and emotions they have accumulated come out does a place for new knowledge appear inside them.” Ivashura emphasizes.