After a surge in the conflict raging in Eastern Ukraine, thousands of children have been forced out of school. As a result of the heavy shelling, at least five schools and a couple of kindergartens have been damaged with 11 schools shutting their doors in response. The estimates were provided by aid agencies whose purpose is to provide emergency education services in Ukraine. As many as 2600 children attending schools in areas that are being run by the government in Eastern Ukraine have been affected by the sharp escalation in fighting. Hundreds more children have also been affected in areas not controlled by the government.
Schools shutting their doors
In the town of Avdiivka multiple schools and kindergartens have had to shut their doors leaving approximately 1,400 children without access to education. Families in the town as well as other villages in the region are scared to send their children to the schools whose doors are open as a result of the intense fighting. Unicef and its partner Save the Children have both strongly condemned the bombing of schools which the agencies say has been indiscriminate. Both agencies are calling for all sides in the conflict to reaffirm their commitment to a ceasefire signed in Minsk in 2015.
Enormous risk
Michele Cecere, Save the Children’s Representative in Ukraine, says that the shelling of schools has unfortunately become a common occurrence in this conflict. There are reports of many unexploded shells lying in the streets which leave children at enormous risk on their way to school even when they are open. It is critical that children are able to get safely back to school as soon as possible so their education does not suffer any more than it already has.
Giovanna Barberis, UNICEF’s Representative in Ukraine, said: “The shelling of schools, the one place where children find safety and normalcy during conflict, is unacceptable and has to stop. Children in eastern Ukraine have suffered enough and we must ensure that they have safe spaces to seek solace and support.”
More than half a million children affected
The most recent round of school closures has exacerbated a continuing crisis in education which already affects as many as 600,000 children in Eastern Ukraine. The conflict has been raging for almost three years and it is estimated that 740 schools or one in five has been either damaged or destroyed resulting in students has been missing for many months of schooling.
