In Ukraine, as a result of Russian aggression, about 400 educational institutions have been completely destroyed, and almost 3 thousand have been damaged.

Speaking online at the event “Restoring access to education: dialogue on the role of Ukrainian municipalities in repair, recovery and reconstruction” organized by U-LEAD with Europe, said Yevhen Kudriavets, Deputy Minister for European Integration at the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, Ukrinform informs.

"Restoring access to education lies in the plan of restoring damaged educational institutions throughout Ukraine. Today, about 400 of them have been completely destroyed and almost 3,000 have been damaged," the government official said.

According to him, 800,000 children will be able to return to school if educational institutions are fully restored. For this purpose, the Ministry cooperates with local authorities, donors, and also calls on municipalities to prepare project and cost estimate documentation in order to attract donor assistance more quickly.

The deputy minister reminded that an educational direction has appeared on the United24 fundraising platform, within which funds for the reconstruction of schools will be accumulated. He also noted that the Ministry is working on the creation of a single coordination platform for more effective interaction with municipalities on financing reconstruction projects.

Peter Wagner, Director of the Service for Foreign Policy Instruments of the European Commission, speaking about the reconstruction of Ukrainian schools, emphasized the importance of the exchange of ideas, which became possible at the event. According to him, "this is a rather unusual format for the European Commission, but special times require special measures."

"It is very important for us to hear exactly from the municipalities what will be the most correct decision in the local context, so that we can restore the resilience of society," he said.

Program Director of U-LEAD with Europe, Bastian Veigel, emphasized that schools are a very important part of the municipality, that is why the Russian invaders tried to destroy them, and that is why it is important to restore educational institutions as soon as possible according to the “building back better” principle.

Anna Novosad, former Minister of Education, co-founder of the savED charitable foundation, noted that the EU has already provided $100 million to the state budget of Ukraine for the reconstruction of schools.

Main photo: IGOR TKACHEV / AFP via Getty Images