Status: 09.11.2023, 22:08 p.m.
By: Lisa Mariella Löw
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In the Ukraine war, Russia is leaving schools in ruins. How far-reaching are the consequences of the destruction of education for children?
Kyiv – Bombed-out classrooms, destroyed libraries and years of no lessons: the Ukraine war is having devastating consequences for children's education. According to a report by the human rights organization Human Rights Watch, from February 2022 to October this year, 3428,365 educational institutions in Ukraine were damaged and <> destroyed.
Russia's attacks would complicate Ukrainian children's access to education not only during the war, but likely for long afterward. After all, repairing and rebuilding schools requires a great deal of resources and time.
Russia's Attacks: Ukraine Protects Education with Safe Schools Declaration
Even before Ukraine's war of aggression in February 2022, the Ukrainian government had taken measures to protect children's education from the attacks. In 2019, the country committed to the Safe Schools Declaration – an international policy commitment that protects education in times of war by strengthening prevention and response to attacks on schools and universities. In the statement, Ukraine pledged to implement the "Guidelines on the Protection of Schools and Universities from Military Use during Armed Conflicts." This means, among other things, that the armed forces should not use schools and universities for military purposes.
Since then, Kiev has drawn up an action plan for implementation. According to the non-governmental organization Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack, as of January last year, 1000,<> Ukrainian military officials had been trained in the Safe Schools Declaration and the Guidelines. According to information from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, an order was issued in July to further restrict the military use of educational institutions. Human Rights Watch is not aware that the Russian government has taken measures to protect education from wartime attacks.
A destroyed school building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kupyansk. (Archive photo) © Bram Janssen/AP
Russia steals school computers: schools in Ukraine serve as a base
Ukrainian schools suffered the most damage from airstrikes, artillery shelling, and rocket attacks, Human Rights Watch reported. Cluster munitions were also used in several attacks. The basements of many schools and kindergartens served as protection for the Ukrainian civilian population from the Russian armed forces. Hundreds of people are said to have been there. For example, according to Human Rights Watch, on March 10, 2022, nearly 200 civilians were in the basement of School No. 5 in Izyum when it was hit twice by a Russian airstrike. No one was killed or injured.
The current martial law states that schools may not be deliberately attacked. An exception is made if the facility is used for military purposes. The warring parties must take all possible precautions to minimize the damage to civilians in the event of attacks. However, in the Kharkivska and Chernihivska regions, Russia carried out attacks on schools that were not used for military purposes.
Russia often used Ukrainian schools and kindergartens as bases for its soldiers, Human Rights Watch writes. Military vehicles were parked in the schoolyards. At times, Russia would also have used the educational spaces for medical purposes or to detain civilians. In the process, they stole computers, televisions, electronic boards, other school equipment and heating systems. The soldiers had painted graffiti on walls expressing hatred against Ukraine.
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Russian army used school building for firing practice
When Russian soldiers occupied a school in Borodianka, Kyiv, for a month in March 2022, they used the school building as a base and to shoot at Ukrainian forces. Human Rights Watch researchers who visited the school in June 2022 saw anti-Ukrainian graffiti on the walls of the classroom, as well as a flag with a Nazi swastika. The gymnasium was used for shooting exercises: "I couldn't hold back the tears," said the school's director. "They (the Russian Armed Forces) used the cafeteria as a bathroom. In another room, blood could be seen on the walls. They broke all the computers and left a pile of dirt behind. They just took the laptops with them."
Overall, the war had a significant impact on children's education and had a negative impact on their psychosocial well-being. A nationwide survey conducted between December 2022 and January 2023 by the Ukrainian think tank Cedos with the SavED and International Renaissance Foundation foundations found that 72 percent of Ukrainian parents think their children need additional measures to make up for educational gaps in their knowledge and skills. On the one hand, because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and on the other hand, because of the war with Russia. The majority of parents also reported symptoms of stress in their children, such as deterioration in sleep quality and duration, difficulty concentrating, and communication difficulties.
Reconstruction of schools in Ukraine: Slow due to Russian occupation
In December 2022, the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine also reported that "destroyed and demolished schools in many cases, especially in the zone of military attacks, prevent physical access to education." In addition, online education is endangered by "attacks on the energy system".
The reconstruction of destroyed schools has taken place in very different ways. For example, in January 2023, the Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science reported that 87 destroyed educational institutions were being restored in the Kyiv region, including 10 schools in the Borodianska and Buchanska communities, 11 in Makarivska and 8 in Ivankivska. In contrast, reconstruction efforts in the Kharkiv region have been much slower due to the ongoing Russian occupation: as of January 2023, only 13 of the 296 affected schools had been repaired.
According to MDR, the ongoing Russian attacks mean that only a third of school-age children can go to school regularly. In addition, many students would forget material they have already learned. The attacks left her deeply distraught. Unicef explained that in Ukraine, children do not have a safe space to learn. For children who have fled abroad with their families, the situation is not much better. More than half did not attend school in their host country. (Lisa Mariella Löw)