As schools prepare to open their doors in September, many educators are grappling with the fact that they don’t have the ability to provide safety to pupils, or peace of mind to parents, should their schools come under attack, as reported by news agency CNN.
«Our schools are not designed to be used as defensive facilities,» Ukraine’s education ombudsman told CNN.
In Irpin, a suburb of the capital Kyiv, combats has wrecked parts of School Number 17, one of the largest in the city that teaches more than 2,400 children aged six to 17. Shrapnel has damaged the school’s roof and broken all its windows.
The gaping holes in bright–colored walls and floors of the school have since been fixed with concrete and plaster. With the help of the United Nations children’s agency, UNICEF, the school is rebuilding its bomb shelter.
«We make it so that it is safe and comfortable there, and that children are not afraid, and that parents are calm,» the school’s headteacher said.
Children are preparing for a new academic year at an enormously challenging moment for the country when Ukraine’s armed forces are battling a grinding Russian offensive in the east, and the country’s economy is in tatters.
The war has taken an extra toll on kids’ lives and prospects.
At least 361 children have died since the war began, and 1,072 have been injured. A survey by the Ukrainian government estimates that 5.7 million school–aged children (between 3 and 18 years old) living in Ukraine have been affected by the war, 2.8 million of whom are estimated to be internally displaced.
Ukraine’s education ombudsman admits that the academic year will be very difficult. «It will begin in unpredictable and very difficult conditions, when there is actually no safe place in Ukraine, since (Russian) missiles can hit anywhere,» he told CNN.
After two years of Covid and half a year of war, educators worry that the knowledge gap is growing among Ukrainian children.
The head of Teach For Ukraine told CNN that even though there has been no recent assessment since the pandemic. She thinks the learning gaps are extremeas many people in Ukraine cannot afford private tutors for their children or paid academic support whihc may indicate that the vast number of children have lost months or maybe even years for learning.
Parents will have to decide if they are comfortable with sending their children back to school. Many are understandably reluctant.
Socialization is a major part of learning, developing critical thinking skills and problem solving, which is why «ultimately, we want to see every child back to school and learning in the school environment,» UNICEF representative Murat Sahin told CNN.
The war has also caused a significant shortage of teachers, with 22,000 of Ukraine’s 434,000 educators (most of whom are women) having left the country, while many more remain internally displaced, he added.