The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (MES) has presented new rules for allocating subventions to arrange a safe educational environment in educational institutions. The main innovation of the financial program is the distribution of subventions using digital tools, namely the state digital restoration ecosystem for accountable management - DREAM.
- The Ministry of Education and Science has become the first to cooperate with the DREAM ecosystem under the financial program. It is an important step that will help to transparently and efficiently allocate public funds to repair or construct shelters. Separately, communities will be able to attract additional funding, as some international partners, organizations, and investors are already waiting for projects to be formed in DREAM to join in arranging safe educational space and contribute to the future of Ukrainian education, - said Oleksandr Kubrakov, Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration of Ukraine - Minister for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine.
The DREAM team, together with the Ministry of Education and Science, is already conducting workshops for communities on using the platform. The training schedule and registration form are available here: https://bit.ly/3TIjla1. Basic instructions on registering for and applying for the financial program can be found here: https://bit.ly/43BPkND.
Mykhailo Fedorov, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, spoke about the data-driven approach to creating educational policies, including the issue of returning to full-time education in schools. He noted that more than 900,000 children are currently studying online, including more than 200,000 abroad, which affects the quality of education, socialization, and competence development. That is why, together with the Ministry of Education and Science, they are implementing a comprehensive School Offline policy.
- We plan to create safe conditions for offline learning for 300,000 students by the end of 2024 when the security situation allows. As part of the project, we analyzed data sets using Palantir technology to assess the region's security situation and identify priority areas where we can return to safe face-to-face learning. After all, high-quality data is the basis for making effective management decisions. We continue to implement Palantir in education. In particular, to analyze data on children's academic progress and their correlation with the security situation, - said Mykhailo Fedorov.
Today, there are communities in Ukraine where students study remotely. Still, if there is a shelter, they can return to full-time education if the security situation allows. The Minister of Education and Science, Oksen Lisovyi, outlined the key steps to returning children to full-time education.
- The issue of returning children to full-time education is critical. After all, the Covid pandemic has caused significant educational losses to Ukrainian education, and the full-scale invasion only exacerbates this trend. According to the international PISA study results, Ukrainian students are 1.5 years behind the required level. Our task is restoring access to quality education, not deepening educational losses. We also need to work together to ensure the safety of our children. We have already developed policies to facilitate the return to full-time education, - emphasized Oksen Lisovyi.
This year, the state budget has allocated UAH 2.5 billion for significant repairs and shelter construction. Previously, subvention funds were allocated to regional budgets, after which local authorities decided which communities and educational institutions would receive funding for shelters. To make the mechanism transparent, funds will be distributed to communities through the DREAM ecosystem.
Communities will independently submit projects to the DREAM ecosystem to receive state funding for shelters. The main requirements include
- the availability of design and estimate documentation for the construction or overhaul of the shelter;
- the educational institution must have at least 200 children enrolled;
- the project must be completed by the end of 2024;
- confirmed co-financing from the community of at least 10% of the total project cost.
After submitting a project, the DREAM system automatically calculates points according to specific criteria. For more information on the conditions for obtaining a subvention and project evaluation criteria, follow the link on the My Fortress website). Also, during the event, eight typical shelter construction projects were presented, which the Ministry of Education and Science developed jointly with UNICEF and the Buffet Foundation. These are design estimates that can be adapted to the specifics of each educational institution and reused.
- To ensure a safe learning environment for children, UNICEF has developed project specifications and design documents for new shelters in kindergartens and schools. We have adapted these designs for educational institutions with different student numbers, considering children's needs, well-being, and compliance with state standards. UNICEF continues to make every effort to create a safe and enabling learning environment for every child in Ukraine, - said John Marks, UNICEF Deputy Chief of Operations in Ukraine.
Currently, each community spends approximately five months to develop a project design for the construction of shelters, as well as UAH 1-1.5 million per educational institution. The reuse projects will reduce the time to 1-1.5 months and save money spent only on geological work concerning a specific area. All projects are created according to new standards and meet modern challenges. Hromadas will be able to adapt them to the needs of educational institutions and use them to apply for the DREAM system. Each community will be able to use them free of charge.
