According to an official from the United Nations’ Children’s Agency, Ukrainian children are suffering heavily from learning deficit, as war continues to wreak havoc in various Ukrainian cities, affecting most of its educational infrastructures.
The official claimed that, the children, home and abroad, are dealing with over four years of education setbacks, which could likely increase if necessary measures are not instituted.
“Inside Ukraine, attacks on schools have continued unabated, leaving children deeply distressed and without safe spaces to learn.
“Not only has this left Ukraine’s children struggling to progress in their education, but they are also struggling to retain what they learnt when their schools were fully functioning.”
Regina De Dominicis, UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia.
Statistics from the agency proves that, over 57% of teachers indicated a drop in proficiency in Ukrainian Language among young students, 45% of teachers also pointed to the decline in arithmetic skills, and 52% of the surveyed tutors complained about the decrease in foreign language proficiency.
According to the data, students in basic and secondary grades have about one-third of their total learning time, in an in-person teaching style. Another third of registered students study both in in-person classes and online classes, and one-third are completely remote.
The UNICEF Director stated that, for intellectual growth to increase among students, face-to-face teaching lessons play an essential role in it. She averred that, though, online classes come in as a substitute to in-person classes, it cannot play the role that in-person classes play in intellectual development.
Additionally, data from a national survey showed that, two-thirds of preschoolers do not attend any form of education. According to UNICEF, three-quarters of parents in frontline regions claimed that, they haven’t enrolled their kids into preschool.
The director indicated that, situations have gone worse for Ukrainian children, because over half of the children, from preschool to high school, haven’t registered in any of the national educational system, in countries that are hosting Ukrainian refugees.
Moreover, Ms. Dominicis confirmed that, preschoolers and upper-level classes, stand the chances of dropping out of school. She cited series of reasons including lack of access to education, language difficulties, and overburdened educational system.
The agency cautioned that, while some young immigrants may be putting in efforts to study online using the Ukrainian syllabus, or other online educational tools, others may have given up on education altogether.
The UN official continued that, schools could serve as part of a healing process for some children, who have been affected by the war. She argued that, schools will offer comfort to those who have lost their loved ones to the war, displacement, and could make companions and get assistance from teachers.
According to the director, UNICEF has teamed up with local authorities and partner in Kyiv, and countries hosting Ukrainian refugees, to provide quality education to the students.
The agency has also partner with the Ukrainian government, to facilitate learning and recuperation of the regional standard. This, according to the director would put in efforts to do away with the obstacles confronting the education system.
This involves renovating schools and giving desperately needed catching up sessions in essential areas, with the goal of assisting 300,000 students in Ukraine who are at risk of acquiring learning debts in the following school calendar year.
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