UNICEF presents standard shelters designs for schools and kindergartens in Ukraine

KYIV, 1 April 2024—The Ministry of Education and Science, together with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), presented the technical documentation and design of reuse projects that will be used to build and equip shelters for schools and kindergartens in Ukraine.

Currently, more than 900,000 children in Ukraine are studying online, which affects the quality of their education, socialization, and competency development.  "According to the results of the international PISA study, Ukrainian schoolchildren are 1.5 years behind the required level. Our task is to restore access to quality education and not to deepen learning losses. We also need to work together to ensure the safety of our children. We have already developed policies that will facilitate the return to full-time education," said Minister of Education and Science Oksen Lisovyi. 

To return access to full-time education for 300,000 students by the end of 2024 by arranging shelters is the goal of the comprehensive School Offline policy, which was announced on April 1. 

"In our commitment to aiding Ukraine's educational recovery, UNICEF has developed project and technical documentation, alongside innovative shelter designs, to establish safe learning environments for children. We've tailored these designs for kindergartens and schools accommodating varying capacities, prioritising children's well-being and adherence to state standards. UNICEF remains dedicated to providing every child in Ukraine with a secure and conducive learning environment," said John Marks, UNICEF Ukraine Deputy Representative for Operations.

Mykhailo Fedorov, Deputy Prime Minister for Innovation, Education, Science and Technology, spoke about the data-driven approach to creating education policy, including the return to full-time schooling. "We plan to create safe conditions for full-time education for 300,000 students by the end of 2024, if the security situation allows it. As part of the project, we used Palantir technology to analyse data sets to assess the security situation in the regions and identify priority areas where we can return to safe, face-to-face education. After all, quality data is the basis for effective management decisions. We continue to use Palantir in education. In particular, to analyse data on children's academic progress and its correlation with the security situation," Mykhailo Fedorov stated. 

In certain communities, students engage in remote learning. If there is adequate shelter and the security situation permits, they may transition back to full-time, in-person education. A common initiative involves the development of project kits that can be customized and reused, leading to significant savings in both money and time—up to 1 to 1.5 months. These projects are designed to address modern challenges and meet current standards, ensuring ease of use for Ukrainian communities seeking government funding.

The list of projects is already available on the updated Moya Fortetsia platform. It contains all the information on the construction, design and financing of shelters.

Communities will independently submit their projects to the Ukrainian government’s Digital Restoration Ecosystem for Accountable Management (DREAM) system to secure government funding for shelters, ensuring adherence to specific requirements:

• Availability of design and costing documentation for the construction or refurbishment of the shelter.
• The school must have a minimum enrollment of 200 children.
• The project must be completed by the end of 2024.
• Confirmed community co-financing of at least 10% of the total project cost.

Once submitted, the DREAM system will automatically assess projects according to specific criteria. For further details on grant conditions and project evaluation criteria, please refer to the link provided on the Moya Fortetsia website.