Education Cannot Wait For Millions of Ukrainian Children Who Are Still in School Despite Russian Invasion

Since the Russian invasion started on February 24, more than half of Ukraine's children have been displaced from their homes. At least two million Ukrainian children are refugees outside the country, a number that continues to grow daily. It is one of the fastest and biggest disruptions of children's lives since the Second World War.

NPR reported that food, medical care, safety, and housing remained the top priorities for Ukrainians during this conflict. But a surprising number of families in the war-torn country are also keeping up with their children's schooling. Ukraine's Ministry of Education declared a two-week school holiday when the war started, but teaching has resumed remotely since then.

According to the Ministry of Education, nearly three million kids, a majority of Ukraine's school-aged children, have shown up for online learning. Ukraine is even broadcasting video lessons on television to help the kids with their education.

'Education Cannot Wait' fund donates $5 million to help Ukrainian children

The country's focus on maintaining education during the war has the support of the United Nations, which has a fund specifically set up for this type of disaster response. Called "Education Cannot Wait," (ECW), the fund has just announced that it will donate $5 million to help children affected by the war in Ukraine with learning and mental health services.

According to ECW, this catalytic grant will help Ukraine sustain its education program during the conflict, which has affected 5.7 million school-aged children in the country and put hundreds of thousands of lives at risk.

Yasmine Sherif, the fund director, said that often when there is a humanitarian crisis, the countries under-prioritize education and focus instead on water and shelter, which are essential. Sherif said that what they have seen from many countries in crisis is that they are protracted, and the problem can last for 10, 20, or even 30 years.

Sherif added that children's mental health suffers when there is no school and no other organized activity. She said that without school, children could be pulled into a conflict as soldiers or even risk trafficking and other abuses.

Read Also: Ukrainian Mom Writes Contact Details on Daughter's Body in Case Her Family is Killed During Invasion

An average of 22 schools a day coming under attack from Russian troops

The problem for Ukraine is that the Russians are showing no signs of ending the conflict with the children, the ones caught in the middle of the crossfire. According to Save the Children, the education of 5.5 million Ukrainian children has been upended because of the Russian invasion, with an average of 22 schools a day coming under attack from Vladimir Putin's army.

Official government figures from the Ukraine Ministry of Education and Science showed that at least 869 education facilities, or about 6 percent of schools in the country, have been damaged since the war started, with 83 of them completely destroyed.

Pete Walsh, Ukraine country director for Save the Children, told ABC that education is under attack in Ukraine. He added that it is unbearable to see schools and nurseries attacked indiscriminately by the Russians.

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