Access to education in the de-occupied territories of Kharkiv and Mykolaiv oblasts

After parts of Kharkiv and Mykolaiv oblasts were de-occupied in 2022, children and adolescents in the affected communities had little or no access to education: schools were damaged and shelters were missing or destroyed. The project started in 2023 under Plan International’s response strategy, which focuses on displaced people, returnees and recently liberated communities. Funding came from the City Council of Madrid (Spain); implementation was coordinated by the Kharkiv Community Foundation “Toloka” and the Voznesensk Community Foundation.

2023: needs assessment and distance-learning centres

The foundation’s team assessed the needs of schools damaged during the hostilities and the occupation, and selected three schools in Kharkiv oblast and two in Mykolaiv oblast for restoration. Six distance-learning centres were set up in a hospital, a village club, schools and kindergartens: each was repaired, got a new or repaired shelter, furniture, and a share of 120 tablets and 18 all-in-one computers. The same year, restoration at Voznesensk Lyceum No. 10 and Shyroke Primary School was completed with new double-glazed windows (annual report 2023, pp. 26-27).

2024: restored schools and support for families

Five institutions were repaired and re-equipped with furniture and teaching equipment: Elitne Lyceum (Kulynychi), Pisochyn Lyceum “Mobil” and Liubotyn Arts Lyceum “Dyvosvit” in Kharkiv oblast, Voznesensk Lyceum No. 10 and Shyroke Primary School in Mykolaiv oblast. The six distance-learning centres opened in February-March 2024. 140 children and adolescents received winter clothing kits and 188 received cash or voucher assistance for educational needs (annual report 2024, pp. 6-9).

Funding

In the foundation’s 2024 expenditure table, “Supporting education and winterisation in the government-controlled areas of Ukraine in Mykolaiv and Kharkiv regions” carries 5,143,215.75 UAH (p. 23). The 2023 table has a Plan International line with a similar title at 5,255,612.00 UAH (p. 62); we do not add the two, because the 2023 report does not itemise what that line covered.