On March 16, 2022, the Minister of Education and Science Serhii Shkarlet addressed the Ministers of Education of the Council of the European Union at a video conference "Coordinated and solidary European response to the war in Ukraine in the field of education.".

"21 days Ukraine suffers from brutal, cruel and large-scale military aggression by the Russian Federation. The aggressor's troops are attacking Ukrainian cities, shelling civilians, homes, kindergartens, schools, colleges, and universities. To date, more than 400 educational institutions have been damaged or destroyed. And the most horrible thing is that there are casualties among the civilian population - children die at the hands of the occupiers. As of the morning of March 16, 2022, the occupiers have already killed 103 children, "said Serhii Shkarlet.

The Minister noted that given the difficult circumstances for the education system, today the Ministry has created conditions and opened free access to many online resources for distance and combined learning formats both in Ukraine and abroad; projects for psychological support of children and their parents during the state of war were launched; The national digital platform "All-Ukrainian online school", which contains lessons that correspond to the Ukrainian school curriculum and which is constantly available outside Ukraine, is successfully operating in more than 120 countries.

Serhii Shkarlet asked for support and development of this online platform, as well as the provision of special grants to fill it with new materials on various subjects, including psychological support for children in war.

"I believe that after the war, our children will definitely return to their homes. I know that many countries already have programs to integrate children into a new place of education, but I took this opportunity to ask colleagues to create an opportunity for our children to learn the Ukrainian language and history of Ukraine, wherever they may be. This is our culture and a whole generation of our citizens who have the opportunity to learn their native language and history to return home and build a new Ukraine, "said Serhii Shkarlet.

At the same time, the urgent issue is to promptly support and meet the educational needs of displaced Ukrainian citizens: children, pupils, students. Therefore, I sincerely welcome the idea of EU ministers to establish a group supporting education in Ukraine, which will coordinate the solution of educational and scientific issues.

The Minister also asked the EU Council of Ministers to consider the possibility of creating a separate program or fund among the EU countries for the restoration of educational and scientific infrastructure and the functioning of the educational and scientific sector of Ukraine.

Serhii Shkarlet thanked his European counterparts for their unwavering support in the fight against unprecedented aggression by Russia and took the opportunity to support Ukraine's aspirations to join the EU and close the sky over Ukraine.

It was at the initiative of the Minister of Education and Religious Affairs of the Hellenic Republic, Niki KERAMEUS, and the absolute support of such an initiative by the Minister of National Education, Youth and Sports of the French Republic, Jean-Michel BLANKE.

On behalf of the Ministry of Education and Science, himself and the entire Ukrainian people, the Minister thanked for the support and steps that have already been taken in the field of education and science.

"I am convinced that in the future, after the victory of Ukraine's occupiers, we will have many joint measures to implement progressive ideas and initiatives. I hope that today's meeting will give a new impetus and strengthen cooperation between our countries to deepen partnerships, develop new prospects and achieve the best mutually beneficial results, "said Serhii Shkarlet.

We would like to remind you that an extraordinary meeting of the Sectoral Working Group "Education and Science" was held to form an international coalition in support of Ukrainian education.