Dear colleagues, fellow Ukrainians!

We are starting a regular meeting of the Government.

The development of Ukrainian education remains one of the key priorities in our work.

In the fourth year of the full-scale war, we have not only maintained an orderly educational process, but also adapted it to the realities of wartime.

Over the past 2 years, the budget for education and science has increased by 35% – from UAH 143 billion to UAH 194 billion.

Today, we have five main focuses in the education sector.

There is good progress in each of them, but we need to accelerate our work.

The first focus is a comprehensive “school offline” policy. “More than 100,000 children have returned to full-time education since last September. We aim to bring this figure up to 300,000.

This year, a record UAH 6.2 billion of subventions have been allocated for the construction of school shelters.

At the last meeting, we distributed more than UAH 3.8 billion among communities to implement 60 projects. We will soon allocate new funds to the local level to keep our children safe.

UAH 1.6 billion was allocated for the purchase of more than 600 school buses. Children from all over Ukraine will have normal access to education. This is a principled position for us.

At the same time, we are supporting our economy by purchasing buses made in Ukraine and developing the domestic automotive industry.

The second focus in education is the New Ukrainian School.

Over the past two years, we have increased funding for this reform by 50%. In 2025, the NUS budget will be over UAH 2 billion.

We are creating the basis for the “profile” reform. Starting from 2027, students will be able to choose their study profile. This is a way to make a conscious choice of profession.

We have recently allocated UAH 500 million for material and technical equipment for schools. Educational institutions must have the means and technologies to ensure profiling.

The third educational focus is the development of vocational education.

We have already equipped about 100 workshops at educational institutions, of which more than 30 have started operating this winter.

This year, the programme is continuing, with funding of UAH 540 million allocated for it. We plan to open up to a hundred more such workshops.

In this way, we are preparing professional staff for the reconstruction of Ukraine and giving internally displaced persons and everyone else the opportunity to get a new specialisation.

The fourth focus is on school meals.

More than 1.6 million children in grades 1-4 receive free meals. Funding of over UAH 2.8 billion has been allocated for this purpose.

The ambitious goal is to extend this practice to all students. In particular, starting from September, it will be extended to schoolchildren in the frontline regions.

We are allocating UAH 1.2 billion to modernise canteens. We are upgrading the infrastructure using three innovative models: a basic kitchen, a hub kitchen and a factory kitchen.

The fifth focus is on teacher salaries.

This year’s total salary fund for teachers is UAH 115 billion.

Around 500,000 teachers receive additional monthly payments of UAH 1,000, and the amount of additional payments will double in September. We launched this additional payment as part of the Winter Support programme, but it will remain in place for the whole year.

We have also allocated funds for teachers’ professional development and training.

I am grateful to everyone who teaches children in this difficult and crucial time. You are active creators of our common future.

Let us stand, preserve and rebuild Ukraine!

Glory to Ukraine!