Overview of the current state of education and science in Ukraine in terms of Russian aggression (September 05-25, 2022) [EN/UK] – Ukraine

general informations

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), as of September 20, 2022, the number of refugees who fled from Ukraine to other countries since February 24, 2022 is more than 13.08 million people.
According to the General Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine as of September 24, 2022, since the start of the war, 391 children have been killed and 773 injured. This data does not include data from areas where active hostilities are taking place.

As of September 23, 2022, 2551 educational institutions have been damaged by shelling and shelling, 291 of them are completely destroyed.

On September 6, 2022, MoES representatives held an online meeting with staff from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. During the meeting, practical issues of organizing the education process for forcibly displaced Ukrainian pupils and students were discussed.

On September 08, 2022, Ukrainian Minister of Education and Science Serhiy Shkarlet participated in the Annual Conference of Universities of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland – 2022.

During the meeting, the participants discussed the state and prospects of the development of Ukrainian higher education in terms of the Russian war against Ukraine. Minister Serhiy Shkarlet informed that as part of the large-scale unification initiative, the “twinning” project has already brought together almost 90 Ukrainian universities with foreign higher education institutions for long-term cooperation in various fields, and currently 144 Ukrainian universities have registered to participate in the project.

Thanks to the support of the Association of UK Universities, leading UK universities have joined the project, and their example has intensified interest in the event from EU universities,
Canada, United States, Australia and New Zealand. The Government of Great Britain has announced financial support for the activities of the partners in this project.

In addition, 5 million pounds have been allocated to Ukrainian-British research projects of universities participating in the initiative; the company “XTH Market” announced support for universities worth a total of 15 million pounds for a period of 3 years; the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) will join “Twinning” with more than 20 German universities ready to become partners of Ukrainian higher education institutions; Cormack Consultancy Group has invested over £140,000 in the implementation of the project. Minister Serhiy Shkarlet expressed his gratitude to British partners for Ukraine’s comprehensive assistance and full support in various fields, especially in education and science.

On September 08, 2022, the online meeting between Serhiy Shkarlet, Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, and João Costa, Minister of Education of Portugal, took place. During the meeting, challenges for Ukrainian educational and scientific systems in the conditions of large-scale Russian military aggression were discussed, in particular access to Ukrainian education for displaced schoolchildren and Ukrainian students.

Minister Serhiy Shkarlet expressed his gratitude to his Portuguese colleague for his full support to the Ukrainian participants in the educational process and to the educational and scientific employees residing in Portugal, his help in preparing for the holding in Lisbon of the multidisciplinary national test for Ukrainian candidates .

The Minister of Education of the Portuguese Republic informed that currently around 15,000 Ukrainian children temporarily displaced from Ukraine reside in Portugal and only 4,000 Ukrainian children are enrolled in Portuguese schools. Minister João Costa also informed that all necessary measures are being taken to integrate Ukrainian children into the Portuguese education system.