The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine has approved new regulations for organizing distance learning during wartime.

This information was published on the MoES website, as reported by Ukrinform.

«The changes concern orders No. 1112 (issued on August 7, 2024) and No. 1115 (issued on September 8, 2020). These changes are part of the «School Offline» initiative, aimed at ensuring quality education for every child, regardless of their location, whether in areas controlled by the Ukrainian government, temporarily occupied territories, or abroad», the statement says.

The ministry stated that these changes result from collaboration with communities and take into account suggestions received during public discussions. «The approved changes are adapted to the needs and specifics of frontline and border regions with Russia», they emphasize at the MoES.

Specifically, the new rules set a minimum class size of 20 students. However, for schools in temporarily occupied territories, border areas, and rural schools, a reduction to 10 students is allowed, while for other cities, the minimum is set at 15. These requirements do not apply to specialized educational institutions.

Additionally, the absence of certain grades is permitted: schools can operate remotely even if one or two classes are missing (for example, without a 7th grade).

Moreover, separate classes for Ukrainian studies will be introduced, where students learn according to a unified educational program within one class.

Children abroad can study remotely only in Ukrainian studies (5-8 hours/week) if they attend a local school; they can study fully remotely if they do not attend a local school; or choose individual forms like external studies or home schooling.

For children in temporarily occupied territories, individual educational support is provided. This includes personalized instruction with payment to the teacher, even if there are no open classes in the school.

Additionally, if a child is in an area where combat actions are ongoing or possible, they can continue remote learning at their original school without the need to transfer to another institution. However, if in-person classes are available with proper shelter at school, this remains a priority for students.

Furthermore, the MoES is establishing a reserve pool for teachers from frontline and affected regions. Teachers who may be at risk of losing their positions can undergo training while receiving an average salary. This reserve will include educators from Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, Sumy, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Kharkiv, Kherson, and Chernihiv regions. Changes to the resolution on the reserve pool are expected to be approved soon.

All the mentioned adaptations regarding distance learning will come into effect on September 1, 2025.

The Cabinet of Ministers allocated 370 million UAH for creating modern educational spaces and STEM laboratories in the regions.