Every seventh school in Ukraine damaged due to war

The war in Ukraine has completely destroyed nearly 400 educational institutions. Every seventh school sustained damage.

Source: Yevhen Kudriavets, Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Education, at Ukraine. Year 2024 forum, as reported by Ukrinform news agency 

Quote: "Every seventh school in Ukraine is currently damaged as a result of the full-scale invasion. Over 3,500 educational institutions have suffered some kind of destruction, and nearly 400 have been completely destroyed," Kudriavets noted.

According to him, the World Bank estimates the cost of restoring Ukraine's educational infrastructure at nearly US$14 billion.

At the same time, some damaged institutions cannot be repaired.

According to Kudriavets, destroying educational infrastructure violates children's and young people's right to an education. This has an impact on educational quality, socialisation, and societal integration.

"Almost a million children are enrolled in online education where they are unable to communicate with their friends or teachers in person.

Another million have access to mixed-study format. This means that they cannot study offline constantly, but they occasionally have the opportunity to attend school," he added.

According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Education and Science, the number of damaged and destroyed educational institutions was smaller in July 2023, with over 1000 and 300, respectively.

In Zaporizhzhia, underground schools will be open until 1 September so that children can receive mixed-format education the following school year. And the mayor of Kharkiv hopes that the city's first underground school will be operational in March.

In addition, Lviv teachers raised over UAH 1 million (approx. US$26,000) for Lyceum No. 55 in Mykolaiv. It will be the only school in the area with an equipped bomb shelter and the option for offline learning.

Support UP or become our patron!