Unexpected Challenges in School Supply of Textbooks Before the New Academic Year
As September 1 approaches, Ukrainian schools across the country are facing serious difficulties in the supply of educational materials.
Recent data collected from various regions indicate that the situation with textbook provision remains disappointing, drawing significant attention from the public and education professionals.
Despite the government’s intentions to ensure a smooth start to the school year, reality falls short of expectations.According to Serhiy Babak, head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Education, Science, and Innovation, as of now, only about 25% of the necessary textbooks have been delivered to schools in the Zhytomyr region, with direct deliveries under the new mechanism constituting less than 14%.
In the Volyn region, the situation is even worse: less than 40% of textbooks have reached educational institutions, while in Kirovohrad — just over half, and in Khmelnytskyi — 45.63%.
Even Kyiv, which was expected to manage logistics more efficiently, reports a 55% fulfillment rate for textbook supplies.The prospects for improvement appear limited, given that less than ten days remain before the start of the new school year.
Nonetheless, Dnipropetrovsk region shows the most optimistic development, with over 71% of textbooks already delivered, while Lviv region lags slightly behind at 66.32%.
Babak emphasizes the importance of acting swiftly: “Despite difficulties, there is still time to streamline the process and ensure every child has access to quality education.”Overall, according to the committee’s latest data, of the 8.7 million textbooks planned for eighth grade in the New Ukrainian School (NUS), only 4.1 million — approximately 78.6% — have reached schools.
Of these, 67.3% have been delivered through regional book bases, while the remainder via the new mechanism.
The situation with resources for children with special educational needs is also critical.
Despite allocating over 1.4 million hryvnias for printing 30,000 Braille textbooks, only six contracts have been signed for printing 6,549 copies, none of which have yet been supplied to schools.
This is especially troubling because for blind students, these textbooks are their primary learning tools.Against this backdrop, government and educational authorities continue working to resolve these issues promptly, striving to guarantee a proper start to the school year.
As Babak emphasizes, “Time is limited — less than ten days remain, so immediate action is necessary to ensure children receive the needed resources for their education.”