Ukraine war: Back to school under Russian attacks

It was a quiescent summertime greeting successful Romny, a provincial municipality successful bluish Ukraine.

As Tetyana Prokopenko, a section headteacher, near for enactment past Wednesday, she told her hubby she had to clasp immoderate meetings to hole for the caller term.

Shortly aft 10:00 section clip she would beryllium dead, unneurotic with her deputy, caput and a librarian.

"She was passionate astir that school, it was her life. She was determination 24/7," Mrs Prokopenko's husband, Valery, says, tearfully.

Russian aerial strikes volition beryllium a changeless menace to Ukrainian teachers, children and parents arsenic the caller schoolhouse word begins connected 1 September.

"I curse determination were nary subject there," Valery says of the schoolhouse successful Romny wherever his woman was killed.

To minimise the deadly threat, galore pupils volition beryllium studying remotely, and it is up to the section authorities to determine whether schooling volition beryllium conducted successful the schoolroom oregon from home.

Their determination depends connected the information concern successful each region, and connected whether schools determination person weaponry shelters.

Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, is adjacent to the Russian borderline and targeted frequently. Therefore, schooling determination volition astir exclusively beryllium done remotely.

To alteration astatine slightest immoderate signifier of harmless in-person education, the authorities determination person built 60 classrooms astatine underground metro stations, capable to accommodate much than 1,000 pupils.

Deputy Education Minister Andriy Stashkiv has told the BBC that astir a sixth of Ukrainian schools are present expected to enactment remotely - but that is acold less than the 1 successful 3 past year.

Some 80,000 of their pupils volition beryllium logging successful from Russian-occupied territories successful Ukraine.

"It's a immense situation for america and it's unsafe for them due to the fact that the occupiers endanger them and their parents if they find retired that they proceed studying successful Ukrainian schools. It's a precise delicate information contented and schools bash not accidental who these pupils are due to the fact that this tin enactment their lives and wellness astatine risk," Mr Stashkiv says.

The schoolhouse program is besides being adapted to wartime conditions, and studying excavation information volition present beryllium compulsory.

To marque the people much accessible for younger children, it features Patron, the celebrated mine-sniffing dog, who besides stars successful a cartoon bid educating young Ukrainians astir the dangers posed by unexploded munitions.

Images of the affable Jack Russell terrier assistance make the "atmosphere of intelligence and intelligence safety" Ukrainian children need, Lesya Yurchyshyn, a teacher from Kyiv, told the BBC's Ukrainecast podcast.

Another diagnostic of the program that has been changed by the warfare with Russia is the removal of galore Russian writers past twelvemonth by Ukraine's acquisition ministry.

Disruption caused by the warfare has had a devastating effect connected the prime of acquisition successful Ukraine.

"Inside Ukraine, attacks connected schools person continued unabated, leaving children profoundly distressed and without harmless spaces to learn. Not lone has this near Ukraine's children struggling to advancement successful their education, but they are besides struggling to clasp what they learnt erstwhile their schools were afloat functioning," says Regina De Dominicis, Unicef Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia.

And it has been a portion since schools were afloat functioning successful front-line cities similar Zaporizhzhia, wherever distant acquisition has been successful spot - with little interruptions - since Covid restrictions were introduced successful outpouring 2020.

"This isn't mean schooling," says Kostyantyn Samiylo, the caput of the Perspektyva schoolhouse successful Zaporizhzhia. "Poor, mediocre children, they haven't seen due schooling for 3 years!"

According to him, region learning makes it overmuch much hard to motivate children oregon to trial their knowledge.

Mr Samiylo describes however helium has been missing the peaceful show of children going to schoolhouse - thing you tin lone spot further distant from the beforehand line.

"I got tearful erstwhile I visited occidental Ukraine past twelvemonth and saw children going to schoolhouse with their small bags. It's atrocious to deliberation that our children don't person this opportunity," Mr Samiylo says.

But immoderate interaction region learning whitethorn person connected acquisition successful Ukraine, teachers, officials and parents each hold that information comes first.