New Beginnings: The Academic Year Kicks Off in Ukraine

On September 1, a new academic year commenced for 3.5 million children in Ukraine.

Of these, nearly 2.3 million will receive in-person education. The number of students learning remotely has decreased by 103,000, as stated by Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.

Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Education Sergey Babak noted that 10% of Ukrainian students are studying online or through other forms of education, as they are located abroad (about 303,000 individuals) or in temporarily occupied territories (over 35,000 students).

This year, around 12,000 schools will operate in Ukraine. Among them, over 8,000 will teach children in-person, 2,500 in a hybrid format, and another 1,500 will conduct remote learning.

Earlier, Deputy Minister of Education and Science Nadiya Kuzmychova mentioned that the majority of children studying online are still enrolled in schools in Kharkiv, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions.

Additionally, there are currently 56 relocated schools operating in Ukraine, reported Minister of Education Oksen Lisovyi.

“Today, four relocated schools from Donetsk are opening their doors for children in new cities. A total of 56 relocated schools across the country means that children remain within their educational community,” wrote the minister.

Yulia Svyrydenko also shared that by the end of 2026, 203 new shelters in schools are planned to be opened in Ukraine.

Earlier, Nadiya Kuzmychova reported that 221 underground schools are currently being built in Ukraine. From September 1, 33 of them will open, with an additional 156 projects expected to be completed by the end of the year, allowing more than 100,000 children to return to their classrooms.