Zelensky visits a school in Irpin at the start of the school year in Ukraine

UNICEF regrets the “harsh reality” of children and teachers in the midst of war

Sep. 1 () –

The President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelensky, visited a school in Irpin on Thursday, one of the towns taken by Russian forces in the first phase of the war, as a sign of support for a sector, education, which has also suffered the ravages of the conflict.

The UN estimates thousands of centers that have suffered damage since February and, in fact, the Government has reopened less than 60 percent. Zelenski has visited a school that has been restored to house 1,300 students from this Thursday.

The president has spoken with the children and has said that “the school is a second home”. He has also toured the facilities, including the basement that should serve as a refuge for staff and children in case of an alert for possible bombing, reports the Ukrainian Presidency.

The director of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Catherine Russell, who has concluded a three-day visit to Ukraine, lamented in a statement that the new course does not come as “a moment of enthusiasm and hope”, with children discussing “summer stories” with friends and teachers.

“For four million children in the Ukraine, the feeling is one of uneasiness, said Russell, after visiting a rehabilitated primary school that can now only accommodate 300 students – 14 percent of its capacity – due to the construction of a air-raid shelter.

“Ukrainian schools are desperately looking for resources to build bomb shelters instead of playgrounds, and children are being taught about unexploded ordnance instead of road safety,” he lamented, speaking of the “raw reality” of families, students and teachers.

Ukrainian authorities and humanitarian agencies are also working to meet the educational needs of children and displaced persons and refugees. The UN estimates that at the end of July some 650,000 Ukrainian children were living as refugees in 12 host countries and were not enrolled in the local education system.