Viktor Mykyta, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine and Chair of the Chamber of Regions of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, reported on a meeting with heads of regional administrations, during which they discussed the regions’ preparations for the start of the new school year, providing children with hot meals, setting up shelters, ensuring energy independence for educational institutions, and other issues.
“As of now, more than 9,370 educational institutions are ready to provide children with hot lunches. This covers nearly 99% of all students at this level. The state has provided communities with the financial resources needed to achieve this target,” Mykyta wrote on Telegram on Friday following the meeting.
He also reported on work to implement the president’s “Schoolchild’s Package” initiative, which provides funding to families of first-graders to purchase necessary school supplies before the start of the new school year, though he did not specify what stage the initiative is currently in.
The deputy head of the Presidential Office discussed efforts to create energy-independent schools, which involve equipping the largest educational institutions with autonomous power, generation, and heating systems. “Schools will become true havens of resilience, where, in the event of power outages, children will be able to stay warm and have access to electricity for an extended period of time. Last winter, which was particularly harsh, such solutions proved their effectiveness in communities and regions. This is our proven path, and we are moving forward along it,” Mykyta said.
Nearly half (45%) of parents spend more than 6,000 hryvnias on back-to-school preparations, with the bulk of the expenses going toward clothing and shoes. This is according to the results of a Rakuten Viber survey.
“45% of Ukrainian parents spend more than 6,000 hryvnias on preparing their child for school. One in five respondents (18%) spends 3,000–6,000 hryvnias, while 10% say they don’t buy anything—they already have everything they need from last year,” according to a Rakuten Viber statement received by the Interfax-Ukraine news agency on Thursday.
Rakuten Viber asked parents how much they spend on preparing their child for school and what takes up the largest portion of their budget.
Responses to the question “How much are you spending on getting your child ready for school this year?” were distributed as follows: Over 6,000 hryvnias – 45%; 3,000–6,000 hryvnias – 18%; 1,000–3,000 hryvnias – 14%; Did not buy anything—we have everything we need from last year—10%; Up to 1,000 UAH—8%; Did not buy anything—everything was given as gifts by relatives or purchased by the school—5%.
Here’s how school expenses were broken down: 58% of respondents spend the most on clothing and footwear: school uniforms, gym clothes, and seasonal items. Another 11% noted that school supplies—from notebooks to backpacks—were their biggest expense.
When asked, “What took up the largest portion of the budget while preparing for school?” the responses were distributed as follows: Clothing and shoes (school uniforms, athletic wear, seasonal items) – 58%; School supplies (from notebooks to backpacks) – 11%; Educational gadgets (laptop, tablet, smartphone, power bank) – 8%; Textbooks and other reading materials – 3%; Setting up a home workspace (desk, chair, desk lamp) – 3%; Expenses were roughly equal across all categories – 17%.
About 10,000 users participated in the survey conducted on Rakuten Viber Ukraine’s official channel. The research methodology consisted of an anonymous online survey. The key age group was 34–45 years old, with over 50% of respondents under the age of 45.
High schools and gymnasiums in the Dniprovskyi and Samarivskyi districts of the Dnipropetrovsk Region have received 10 new school buses as part of the Ukraine Facility program, with plans to purchase another 42 by the end of the year, according to Oleksandr Hanzha, head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration.
“The new buses are comfortable and adapted for students with special educational needs; these 10 vehicles will provide transportation for nearly 1,200 students to 32 educational institutions,” he wrote on Telegram on Monday.
In total, according to Hanzha, there are currently 462 school buses operating in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Another 42 are planned to be purchased this year. The procurement is being funded by an educational subsidy, co-financed with local communities as part of the Ukraine Facility program.
The head of the Regional State Administration thanked the president, the government, the Ministry of Education and Science, and European partners for supporting this initiative.
BUS, DNIPROPETROVSK REGION, SCHOOL, Ukraine Facility, СТУДЕНТ
KAN Development, in partnership with the “A+” Educational Holding, has opened a large-scale, innovative educational complex at the Respublika residential complex, according to the developer’s press office.
Respublika STEAM School is a modern school-style campus with infrastructure comparable to that of a university: a three-story atrium with an amphitheater, laboratories, a makerspace, a swimming pool, sports halls, a media library, open spaces for teamwork, and a modern shelter. The building covers an area of 26,300 square meters and is designed to accommodate 1,120 students.
The A+ Educational Holding brings together educational projects offering preschool, school, and extracurricular education for children aged 1 to 19. As reported, KAN Development is investing $80 million in the construction of a school in the “Respublika” residential complex and a school on McKenna Street in Kyiv. In total, the educational institutions are designed to accommodate 2,000 students. Respublika STEAM School will become the holding’s 16th educational institution.
KAN Development was founded in 2001. The company’s portfolio includes Ocean Plaza, Respublika Park, Tetris Hall, Central Park, Comfort Town, “Faina Town,” Respublika, IQ Business Center, and 101 Tower. Over more than 20 years in the market, KAN Development has created over 3 million square meters of residential, retail, and commercial real estate. The company is also actively developing its own network of educational institutions, “A+”.
According to Serbian Economist, the Serbian Ministry of Education has announced the financing of educational materials for migrant schoolchildren, including the translation and adaptation of materials into Ukrainian, as the language barrier remains one of the key challenges in integrating children into the education system.
Education Minister Dejan Vuk Stankovic noted that more than 5,500 migrant and asylum-seeking students have consistently passed through the Serbian education system. According to him, the ministry continues to support schools where migrant children study: mentors and external consultants are involved, and teaching materials are translated into the students’ native languages, currently Ukrainian and Arabic.
Stankovic reported that as part of this work, training events were held for more than 4,000 educators, teachers, principals, and support specialists, and more than 70 schools received support through grants. In addition, more than 3,000 individual support plans have been prepared and more than 10,000 additional classes have been held; support measures also included the distribution of books, textbooks, and school supplies.
The ministry also noted that the work on translating materials and supporting schools is being carried out with the participation of international partners. However, the amount of expenditure and the number of textbooks printed or materials translated into Ukrainian were not disclosed in the ministry’s public statements.
The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a proposal from the Ministry of Education and Science to implement a joint project with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to provide financial assistance to 1,500 educational institutions for the 2025/2026 academic year.
As reported by Taras Melnychuk, representative of the Cabinet of Ministers in the Verkhovna Rada, on Telegram, the relevant decision was made at a government meeting on Friday.
It is noted that the purpose of the assistance is to ensure that educational institutions are prepared for the winter period and to increase their energy sustainability in frontline and other vulnerable regions.
The amount of financial assistance is set at UAH 420,000 per institution, provided to the founder as a lump sum for each recipient institution, with the number of recipient institutions per founder not exceeding nine.
The decision defines the main criteria for selecting institutions: status as a general secondary or preschool educational institution; location in certain frontline and other vulnerable areas; belonging to territorial communities that do not have an insurmountable level of security risk; organization of full-time or blended learning; absence of accommodation functions for students; not classified as specialized military lyceums; compliance with additional criteria established by UNICEF.
As reported, 700 schools received UAH 290,000 from UNICEF to prepare for winter and modernize school canteens in the 2024/2025 academic year.
