“The full -scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022, became an unprecedented test for all spheres of life, and the educational system was no exception. From the first days of war, when millions of children were forced to leave their homes, and thousands of schools and universities were under fire, to the present, when education demonstrates striking stability and innovation – it is”, – WRITE ON: ua.news
The full -scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022, became an unprecedented test for all spheres of life, and the educational system was no exception. From the first days of the war, when millions of children were forced to leave their homes, and thousands of schools and universities have been under fire, to the present day, when education demonstrates striking stability and innovation – it has become from the object of fragility to the driving force.
This period of martial law became a catalyst for transformations that could take decades in peacetime. Ukrainian education not only survived but also actively adapts and is looking for new ways to ensure a continuous educational process, protect the rights of education applicants and build a solid foundation for the future of the country.
What are the most pressing problems of today’s education in Ukraine? What innovative solutions are already implemented? How does education become a central element of national indomitability? Read in UA.news.
Influence of war on education: infrastructure loss and psychological challenges
Full -scale aggression has led to serious consequences for the educational system by causing a devastating blow by its infrastructure and participants in the educational process. Since February 2022, more than 3790 educational institutions have been damaged or destroyed in Ukraine, including schools, kindergartens and universities. The Ministry of Education and Science has even created a special site with an interactive map of destruction, but the extent of the damage caused increases faster than moderators have time to update information.
The educational infrastructure of Kharkiv region, which had a Renome of the Student Capital of Ukraine before the war, was most affected. The destruction of universities in the region, where more than 160,000 students enrolled, became a double blow on the system of education and scientific potential of the state.
Purposeful destruction of educational institutions is not just a side effect of hostilities, but a deeply strategic attack on the human capital of Ukraine. Destroying schools and higher education, the aggressor strikes the future economic and scientific potential of the country, seeking to deprive the state of its most valuable resource – educated youth. Keeping educational and scientific potential in war becomes a matter of national security and identity. In addition to destruction, the war has taken the lives of teachers, students and parents that turns this aggression into deep Human tragedy for the whole educational environment.
Military actions significantly change the emotional state of all participants in the educational process, causing serious psychological problems for children, young people and pedagogical staff. Among the education students there is increased anxiety, impaired concentration, reduced motivation for learning and emotional instability. Traumatic experience, fear and loss of loved ones reduce the ability to focus on learning, which adversely affects cognitive development and success.
In these circumstances, education ceases to be exclusively the process of knowledge transfer, and acquires a new, critical function – psychological stabilization and socialization. That is why schools began to actively implement psychological trainings, lessons of emotional intelligence and practice of Mindfulness to help children adapt to new reality and return to study. Creating a safe, supporting environment is a key task that helps soften negative impact wars and providing children with the opportunity to focus on their education.
Transformation of the educational process: flexibility, innovation and adaptation
In response to the challenges of the war, the Ukrainian educational system demonstrated extraordinary flexibility, rapid adaptation and implementation of innovative decisions. One of the largest and most important achievements was the operational transition to distance learning. This transition was provided with widespread use of online platforms, such as Google Classroom, Zoom and Microsoft Teams, as well as launching the All-Ukrainian School online, which provided access to high-quality video lessons for students throughout the country.
Online learning It became a rescue circle, ensuring the continuity of the educational process, even when the eye education was impossible due to combat or evacuation. Distance learning also has a significant advantage for psychological stability, as children allow children to study at home, in a safe environment, without constant fear of physical danger. This opportunity helps to reduce stress and maintain focus on learning in difficult conditions.
Although the challenges related to socialization remain, online schools are actively using live lessons, interactive tasks and group projects, and parents are advised to support children in circles and sports sections for live communication. Ukrainian system online education It is developing rapidly, and today a number of accredited remote schools are operating on the market, which offer full secondary education with all the necessary documents of the state model, which are recognized in any Ukrainian higher education. These schools also support tutors and preparation for the NMT, providing quality education even outside the traditional school building.
In the face of constant danger, especially in frontline cities such as Kharkiv, a unique and extremely important innovation has emerged – Underground schools. It is not just a shelter, but full-fledged educational institutions that allow you to restore offline training and ensure the physical safety of students. As of September 2025, seven underground schools were opened in Kharkiv, which became a supplement to study rooms, equipped at the metro stations. One of these schools, opened in the Shevchenkivskyi district, is designed for 1000 students and has the highest degree of protection.
These institutions are fully adapted for inclusive training and are equipped with modern equipment, including equipment for computer science lessons provided with the assistance of the Kharkiv IT cluster. Demand for training These schools are crazy, which indicates an urgent need for a safe offline environment. Financing of construction, which was first conducted exclusively from the city budget, is now supplemented by international partners and government subsidies. This experience shows how the crisis stimulates engineering and social innovations that become a model to ensure the educational process in conditions that seemed impossible previously.
Right to education in a state of martial law
The right to education is one of the fundamental human rights guaranteed by the Constitution of Ukraine. However, the conditions of martial law create significant challenges to ensure this right, especially through active fighting, occupation of territories and forced migration of the population. To overcome these problems, the state introduced a number of legislative and regulatory decisions aimed at protecting the educational rights of Ukrainian citizens.
In particular, the Ministry of Education and Science has updated methodological recommendations for training in the conditions of war, which concern students who went abroad and are in temporarily occupied territories (Tot). Children who are abroad can combine education at a local school with a Ukrainian educational program, choosing a remote, family or external form. The learning results obtained in foreign schools are recognized automatically on the basis of special scales of points, which avoids the overload of students and maintain their connection with the Ukrainian educational system. For students, individual forms of education are provided, such as pedagogical patronage, taking into account the circumstances of the child’s safety and needs. This is a strategic step in the state aimed at preserving the educational potential and maintaining Ukrainian children in the country’s educational orbit, reducing the risks of assimilation and loss of communication with the Motherland.
In addition, in order to ensure the continuity of the educational process and the preservation of scientific potential, legislative initiatives were registered in the Verkhovna Rada to provide delay from mobilization for certain categories of teachers, scientists and education applicants. These measures reflect the understanding that education is not only a social but also a strategic sphere, the support of which is critical for future restoration and development of the state. Thus, the legislation is used not only for regulation, but also for guaranteeing the right to education in the most difficult conditions.
Future of Ukrainian Education: From Recovery to Strategic Development
Despite the enormous losses caused by war, Ukrainian education is not just recovering, but experiencing the largest transformation in history. The state leadership views the crisis as a unique opportunity for modernization and jump forward.
The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine implements an ambitious project covering 2024-2026 for a systematic updating of educational infrastructure. As part of this initiative, it is planned to modernize and build more than 1500 educational spaces. Key areas include the construction of 200 underground skeleton schools that will allow you to return eye training in hazardous regions. In parallel, there is a modernization of workshops in vocational training, and more than 100 modern laboratories will be created, which will provide students with access to advanced technologies and innovative approaches to learning. 210 school food blocks and 963 cells are also provided “Defense of Ukraine” for the formation of national identity and basic self -protection skills in young people. This strategy indicates the transition from a simple “recovery” to a purposeful “modernization”, where every investment in infrastructure is an investment in human capital.
In addition to infrastructure changes, fundamental content reforms and training approaches are taking place, which are enshrined in the strategic plan of the Ministry of Education and Science by 2027. One of the most important elements is the reform of high school, which envisages the introduction of profile education since 2027, which will allow students to choose subjects and courses in accordance with their interests and future professional plans. The piloting of individual elements of this reform will begin in September 2025 in 30 lyceums. This creates a real link between education and economy needs, which is especially important during the post -war reconstruction.
Transformations also cover higher education. Individual educational trajectories have already been introduced, which allow students to form their curriculum independently, as well as choose subjects and even change the specialty without re -entry. More than 13,000 students have already received grants to study, and a double diploma program with UK universities, implemented as part of Twinning initiative, allows Ukrainian students to receive two diplomas at the same time without leaving the country. These changes are aimed at improving the quality and competitiveness of Ukrainian education at the international level, as well as its integration into the European educational space, which is a key strategic priority for the state.
Summarizing, today the educational system of Ukraine is experiencing, perhaps the most difficult period in its modern history. It suffered significant infrastructure losses and faced acute psychological challenges. However, instead of crisis, it demonstrates amazing resistance and adaptation. Large-scale transition to online training and unique experience of building underground schools in Kharkiv are a prime example of how innovations born of despair become catalysts of progress.
This process emphasizes that education is not only a sphere that needs protection, but also a powerful tool that Ukraine uses to fight and build its future. Education has become the foundation of unbreakable, which ensures the continuity of life in war.
