Representatives of territorial communities of the region met with national and international NGO’s that provide expert and donor assistance in the field of restoring access to education in order to coordinate joint efforts in overcoming the problems of the sector caused by the war. The forum was organized by the Chernihiv office of UST together with the Regional Office of International Cooperation of Chernihiv Regional Military Administration

“This year’s indicators inspire hope that with joint efforts we will be able to make up for educational losses. Today, 38% of schools in our country study offline, 46% – in a mixed form, and only 16% study remotely.”

It is the coordination of joint work between state and local authorities and NGOs that can speed up the reconstruction process, according to Tetyana Yasochko, adviser to the head of the Chernihiv Regional Military Administration:

“The purpose of this event is to establish communication between donors and communities that need help. We want to build this dialogue so that our joint work to restore the industry is as effective as possible.”

One of the serious problems in the field of education in Chernihiv Region, according to Andrii Kuzhel, head of the UST Chernihiv office, is the uneven implementation of projects in the region:

“Help is often focused closer to Kyiv. The Kyiv highway is like a conditional demarcation line. We all understand that it is logistically more convenient, but we have to remember the borders, where many donors are afraid to go. People leave from there, and the lack of access to education is one of the factors of this migration.”

Thus, in the 20-kilometer zone on the border with Russia, where face-to-face education is prohibited, there are 19 schools and 17 kindergartens, where almost 2 thousand children study in total. According to Tetyana Kovalchuk, head of the education department of the Novgorod-Siver city council, in two months of the school year, the number of students in community schools decreased by 20 children. Out of 13 schools in the community, only one is open.

“We are a community that is in the zone of possible hostilities, we have a 20-km zone. If we don’t have a school, we have less than 200 students, and funds are usually taken for large schools, – says Tetyana Kovalchuk. – In Novgorod-Siversky, we have a large lyceum for 800 students, where there is no shelter. We are developing project documentation for its construction, we are asking designers to break it into complexes in order to implement it in parts, but there is no donor for this either. We need to work on finding funds that are willing to join together.”

As part of the forum, representatives of international organizations presented their policies and areas of activity, talked about work plans for 2024. Anna Putsova, the head of the operational direction of the SavEd fund, on the initiative of which the first 8 digital educational centers were created in the schools of the region, emphasized the importance of the proactive position of local self-government bodies.

“A correctly articulated need with the right reasoning is equal to the satisfaction of that need. International funds can help you, but it is important to offer your vision on how to solve this problem, to work out legislation and possible solutions. Only then can this mechanism move from its place,” she addressed the representatives of the communities of the region.@