School plays a crucial role in the desire of Ukrainian teenagers to stay in the country - despite the risks associated with the war, according to a study called "War, Education and Social Capital. Three Years of Full-Scale Invasion". It was conducted among students from grades 8 to 11, their parents, teachers and representatives of school administrations.
Every fifth teenager would like to go abroad
According to the study, over 20 percent of Ukrainian teenagers would like to go abroad. 52 percent want to stay in Ukraine, but only 30 of them - in their own city or village. The largest number of those wishing to move to another settlement or country are students from the areas near the front line, and the least - from the western regions of Ukraine. The desire of young people to stay or move is influenced not least by the sense of belonging to the respective municipality, the study also shows.
"Those who feel more satisfied with their studies, who have friends and see meaning in their actions, more easily decide to stay in their municipality or in Ukraine as a whole", commented former Minister of Education Anna Novosad for DW. That is why the restoration of education should not be limited to the restoration of school buildings, but also include solutions for the restoration of the educational environment. "This can also contribute to better socialization of children," she adds.
The negative consequences of the pandemic and the war
The pandemic and Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which forced children to study online for a long time, deprived many of them of the habits of active socialization. For children from areas near the fighting, this continues to be a problem. Official data shows that only 34 percent of students there participate in the learning process in person, and almost half (49 percent) are learning remotely. Overall, in Ukraine, the volume of in-person education has increased to almost 70 percent this year, compared to only 39 percent in 2023.
"This has consequences: in municipalities with in-person or blended learning, the attitude towards school is generally more positive, while in regions where distance learning is more often used, communication is worse and school efficiency is lower," Novosad noted.
Distance learning affects not only teenagers' migration attitudes, but also their expectations for their future in general, the study authors concluded. The most optimistic about their future are students from the western regions of Ukraine - 49 percent, compared to 44 percent from the central and northern regions and 43 percent from the front-line regions.
Kristina Kashchuk, head of the UActive program, says about the results of the survey that it is very important for children to trust their mentors and teachers. "It is through this communication with mentors and adults, when they talk to them about the opportunities in Ukraine, that children learn where they can realize themselves and that it makes sense to stay in Ukraine," she tells DW.
Ukraine is losing the battle for human capital
New data on the migration attitudes of Ukrainian youth are causing serious concern. Alexander Gladun from the "Mykhail Ptukhi" Institute of Demography and Social Research notes in this regard that approximately a quarter of students in the upper grades are inclined to leave the country. "This is a very large percentage. We are losing the battle for human capital", he told DW.
The demographer also draws attention to the fact that in most European countries the population is aging, there is a need for labor, and therefore there is interest in Ukrainian citizens. "Many European countries, in particular the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany and Austria, provide the opportunity for free education to foreign citizens. And we are introducing paid higher education," criticizes Gladun.
What can be done?
In order for Ukrainian youth not to run away, state policy must be reoriented from "restoring the walls" (of buildings - ed.) to restoring the socialization of children in a safe educational environment, experts believe. This applies primarily to the regions close to the front - Kharkiv, Zaporizhia, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Kherson regions.
"Now it is important not only to build shelters where to wait for the danger to pass - it is necessary to massively create underground centers, fill them with extracurricular activities, where there is a sense of contact, joint creativity and thus provide psycho-emotional support to teenagers. This is a key factor in the youth remaining in Ukraine," Anna Novosad points out.
The Ministry of Education and Science claims that they are making efforts to ensure that Ukrainian students feel safe and confident at school. The Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, Okshen Lisovy, stated that the implementation of a comprehensive program "School Offline" has begun, the purpose of which is to return children to safe in-person learning, and where this is impossible, to create conditions for high-quality and effective distance education.
Author: Liliya Rzheutskaya