Since 2022, the Elena Zelenska Foundation has been working in the field of education to improve the conditions of distance learning. The focus of the activity, in particular, is on helping teachers and students who were forced to switch to the online format of classes due to the full-scale war.
Today, schools in Ukraine work mainly in a mixed or distance format.
Together with foreign partners and the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine in 2022-2023, the Foundation handed over laptops with software to 38,856 Ukrainian teachers from 12 regions.
Olena Zelenska announced this on her Instagram page.
Thanks to the support of the Embassy of Ukraine in South Korea, it was also possible to provide 500 schoolchildren with laptops.
In addition, 2,500 laptops are expected to arrive as part of cooperation with the UAE government.
Olena Zelenska held a zoom meeting with Hanna Novikova, a teacher of one of the Kryvyi Rih schools, who received a laptop within the framework of the Foundation's program.
Ms. Hanna teaches computer science in the 5th grade of Kryvyi Rih gymnasium and leads an interdisciplinary STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) course. This course requires considerable practice. It is difficult to do this remotely, but the teacher selects such videos that can be viewed on any device, because training in the gymnasium takes place online.
"Under constant Russian shelling of the city, the teacher gives her students the best, highest quality knowledge that will definitely be needed after the victory. But they are saving already now - because children learn to think, make decisions and just have fun despite the war. She is glad that she will now be able to conduct her exciting lessons with the help of high-quality equipment. And they are transformed into the dreams and plans of many, many children," said Olena Zelenska.
Currently, the need for teachers in Ukraine is 81,309 laptops. First of all, teachers in the East and South (Kharkiv, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Odesa, part of Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhya regions) need equipment.
The need for devices for students is 526,839 units. In general, the situation of providing children with gadgets is critical. In most regions, the need is satisfied by 0−15%.
The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine emphasizes the importance of involving partners, international and donor organizations in providing teachers with the necessary devices.
Yevhen Kudryavets, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine for European Integration, notes: "For teachers, it's not just a gadget — it's about the opportunity to teach and about access to education for their students. Our team will continue to work on restoring the educational process. Access to education is a basic right of children, for which we are currently fighting against the circumstances and challenges of war."
