Ukraine: Additional 11,000 laptops provided to students to support learning continuity

In the past few weeks, UNESCO has already provided more than 8,500 of these devices to primary and secondary school students in Ukraine’s conflict-affected regions including Kyiv, Dnipro, Odesa, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, and Sumy. These devices will not only enable students’ access to online educational resources but will also facilitate communication between teachers and students, which is critical to continue with their education and promote the well-being of learners and teachers in times of war.

In Dnipro, out of the 806 general secondary education institutions, more than 300 are forced into remote learning due to the security situation. On 14 February, 1,757 Chromebooks arrived in the region with UNESCO’s support. 

“We express our gratitude for the timely and necessary assistance for providing laptops, in order to ensure a high-quality learning process for our children who are studying online”, said Iryna Grytsai, Deputy Head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration.

The much-needed devices were also received by authorities from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, both facing severe challenges to continue in-person education. “As of today, more than 60% of students have been evacuated from the Donetsk region, while more than 30% of students stayed. We are continuing distance education for them, therefore, supplying children with devices is always a much-needed support”, shared Olena Svira, Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Science of the Donetsk Regional State Administration.

“Through the cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science, and thanks to our partner UNESCO, we receive 2,576 Chromebooks today, which will really support the work of our teachers and children. Last year we also received more than 4,000 Chromebooks, so by now the need for necessary digital learning devices is almost met”, said Lysohor Artem Volodymyrovych, Head of the Luhansk Regional State Administration.

This latest endeavor builds upon UNESCO’s earlier distribution of 50,000 Chromebook laptops, donated by Google, to teachers in need across all the regions of Ukraine. The laptops, distributed in early 2023, have contributed significantly to the continuity of education and the recovery and resilience building in the education sector. 

UNESCO is also working to support teacher professional development, the transformation of mental health and psychosocial support services in schools, education planning and management, school rehabilitation, and monitoring refugee learners’ access to education in host countries.