Ukraine’s Education Landscape: One-Third of Schools to Operate Remotely Due to Security Concerns in 2024-2025 Academic Year
As the new academic year commenced on September 1, Ukraine’s education system is undergoing significant changes in the organization of learning formats.
Recent data indicates that over 12,000 schools across the country will operate under various modes: approximately 8,000 institutions will continue to hold in-person classes, about 2,500 will adopt a mixed approach combining face-to-face and remote learning, and roughly 1,500 schools will function exclusively online.
These decisions, made by regional authorities and educational bodies, are driven by security risks stemming from ongoing hostilities in eastern Ukraine and the increasing destruction of school facilities, which has also contributed to a decline of 62,000 in the number of first-graders.
Serhii Babak, head of the parliamentary committee on education, science, and innovation, in an interview with ZN.UA emphasized that remote learning is primarily implemented in frontline regions, areas susceptible to shelling, and schools lacking proper shelters.
For instance, in Kharkiv, since 2022, the Defense Council made a decision to cease in-person classes amid the imminent threat of missile strikes.
Similar measures are adopted in other conflict-prone territories, including parts of Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, as well as border communities in Sumy and Chernihiv regions.
Currently, nearly 1,779 schools have been damaged by shelling, with 226 completely destroyed.
These decisions are coordinated through regional Defense Councils, which prioritize safety measures to maintain the continuity of education.
Last year, the country also saw a notable decrease in the number of first-graders due to demographic decline, driven by lower birth rates since 2024.
All these factors highlight the complex challenges faced by Ukrainian education during wartime, compelling authorities and educators to find innovative and secure solutions to ensure the continuation of learning while safeguarding students and staff.