Education And Child Protection Need Urgent Support In War-Ravaged Ukraine

Tatiana Fannouch is a United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Programme Specialist who lives in Ukraine. This year, the war forced Tatiana and her two children to leave their home in Bakhmut. An internally displaced person herself, Tatiana shares her first-hand experience regarding the effects of war on the quality of education, children’s human rights, and child protection issues in Ukraine.

Julia Brodsky: What is the current situation with education in territories that are constantly being shelled?

Tatiana Fannouch: Some families choose to stay put, as they perceive their house as the safest place or have other reasons, such as disabled grandparents for whom travel would be difficult. Families in these territories have no access to education and rarely have an internet connection.

In addition to a lack of accessibility, children in these territories struggle with mental health challenges. Most men have been drafted into the army, so children’s psychological state depends largely on that of their mothers. But families in Ukraine have been experiencing accumulating stress for almost a year now – that stress is affecting their children’s ability to learn.

As a result, we have observed children developing several social issues. They play less and exhibit little interest in communicating with their peers. They also often struggle with recall and concentration. Some children experience panic attacks, depression, and other mental health conditions. They become suspicious of others and lose trust in adults’ ability to protect them. Teenagers tend to become more reckless and aggressive. All these children would require lengthy rehabilitation before resuming regular education.

Those who do choose to leave their homes face a different set of issues. Quite often, families resettle in former school buildings that have been repurposed as shelters. Such shelters are overcrowded with several families, including those with newborn babies, toddlers, elderly people, and people with disabilities. These dire conditions, which most families are forced to deal with for months on end, are psychologically exhausting and create a breeding ground for domestic violence.

Displaced children have a difficult time integrating into the new community. At times, they are seen as “different” at their new schools and have a hard time making new friends. They are less open about their problems and frustrations. Despite challenges with school, families are forced to focus on survival rather than learning. Some families do not feel safe sending children to school, so the children study online. Unfortunately, online learning does not provide enough scaffolding for building interpersonal and communication skills.

In addition, parents and caregivers themselves are stressed and are in urgent need of psychological support. Ukraine needs to focus on programs that strengthen parenting skills, guide parents and caregivers on how to cope with stress, and provide effective tools to support their children. Peer-to-peer support groups, facilitated by psychologists, educators, and social workers, are some of the most effective ways to do so.

Brodsky: What is education like for high school students who may be better prepared for online learning?

Fannouch: High school children are especially stressed. They lost a year of schooling due to the war and may no longer be competitive in entering universities abroad. While universities in the west of Ukraine are still open, many teachers and college professors were forced to evacuate the country. The consequential lack of educators has made it difficult for teenagers to prepare for higher education. Here, in Kryvyi Rih, 15 STEM teachers volunteered their time to create online courses to help local teens prepare for college. But that only works for those who feel relatively safe and prepared to study.

Another significant wartime problem is the utter lack of interactive and engaging after-school activities that could help teens pursue their interests. Being left to their own devices, teens often develop risky habits, including violent behavior and substance abuse.

Teenagers in juvenile facilities are mainly forgotten. Before the war, we had programs to support such children and reintegrate them into the community. Now, these programs are cut, setting these children up for failure in the future.

Brodsky: What is the state of orphanages in Ukraine? Is it better than that juvenile facilities?

Fannouch: Currently, Ukraine has the greatest number of children in institutions when compared to the rest of Europe. It is the heritage of the post-Soviet educational system, with over 92,000 children in specialized boarding schools and orphanages. Many of these children are social orphans sent to institutions by parents who were unable to take care of them due to issues with drugs, alcoholism, and other challenges. After the start of the war, over 42,000 children were returned home, as the system could no longer support them either. This has only exacerbated the situation. There are countless cases of mortality, violence, and parental neglect, such as when children die from hypothermia. And because of the war, we have almost no capacity and budget for social workers to monitor these families.

At the beginning of the war, many orphanages were evacuated, and children were sent to neighboring countries, including Poland, Germany, Turkey, and Italy. The largest Ukrainian youth institution, which hosts 600 children, is located in Poland. Children are provided with shelter, food, and other material goods, but there are not enough caregivers. Children run away and get lost. Some children need regular medical help and do not receive it in time. Unfortunately, we cannot return the children home yet, as many orphanages and schools in Ukraine have been bombed and ruined. There is no water and electricity in those that are still standing.

Prior to the war, Ukraine initiated implementation of the foster care system with a goal of reducing the number of children in institutions and making sure each child had a family. However, these efforts were undercut by the war.

Brodsky: So what can be done now?

Fannouch: Understandably, all Ukrainian current budget priorities are concerned with defense and medicine. However, we really need to keep education and social services well-funded. If we do not allocate sufficient funds to these areas, we will run into huge problems in the future.

First, we need to start with addressing statistics and accountability. At the moment, it is not clear who is responsible for the displaced children. Bad actors benefit from the turmoil.

Second, we need to assist displaced families with housing. We must create jobs, retrain people, and get them employed. Staying on welfare makes internally displaced people feel helpless and dependent on outsiders. This will be detrimental to the country in the long run. Instead, we need to help people integrate into their new communities and rebuild their lives. Unfortunately, at the moment, regional resources for such assistance are frozen.

Third, it is critical that we earmark funds specifically for education, including after-school education. If we do not start now, we risk losing a generation. Regular educational activities led by caring, attentive, well-trained adults are crucial for child development. We must establish alliances with educational programs, schools, and colleges in Europe and the US that would provide services to motivated students willing to study outside of Ukraine. It would be best if we could negotiate and sign memorandums between the institutes - ideally, at the national level.

For decades, Ukraine was known for its specialists in high-tech fields such as IT, medicine, engineering, aerospace, and mining. Our country benefited from this well-prepared group of people, and so did neighboring countries. Our only hope of restoring this is to mend our education and child support systems.

Brodsky: What could happen to Ukraine if these steps are not taken?

Fannough: As a country, we will likely become more dependent on external assistance — which is ironic because right now, we are fighting for our independence. After the war, businesses in Ukraine could have a difficult time finding qualified workers.

As they say, do not give a hungry person fish - give them a fishing rod. Please help us by investing in our education and social services now, and we will need less help with rebuilding Ukraine later.