The “Donetsk Region” Cultural Hub in the capital hosted a discussion club titled “Realizing the Fundamental Constitutional Right to Education for Residents of the Donetsk Region in Wartime”.
The panel discussion featured Igor Gaevoy, director of the Department of Education and Science of the Donetsk Regional State Administration; Serhiy Tertychny, director of the relocated Kramatorsk Higher Vocational School of Trade and Culinary Arts; Viktor Shabanov, assistant rector of the Donetsk Regional Institute of Postgraduate Pedagogical Education; and educators from Donetsk Oblast communities who were forced to relocate to Kyiv.
Before the full-scale invasion, the Donetsk region had one of the largest educational networks in Ukraine: 168,000 children were enrolled in 491 secondary schools. Today, the network has undergone significant changes: the number of such institutions has nearly halved—to 214—where 62,300 students are currently enrolled.
Educational activities were conducted in in-person, distance, and blended formats.
Despite the numerous difficulties and challenges caused by the war in Ukraine, teachers and mentors concluded the 2025–2026 academic year with their students having achieved a high level of preparation. Among them were winners of All-Ukrainian competitions, student academic contests, and tournaments. Their work was recognized with diplomas, awards, and letters of appreciation from Vadym Filashkin, head of the Donetsk Regional State Administration.
During the discussion club, participants also discussed vocational education in the Donetsk region. These institutions continue their work after relocating to the Dnipropetrovsk, Ternopil, Rivne, and Kirovohrad regions, where instruction has been conducted with safety in mind—in remote, blended, and in-person formats.
In addition, significant attention was paid to students who are in temporarily occupied territories and plan to continue their education in other cities of Ukraine during the next academic year.
At the conclusion of the discussion club, participants reaffirmed that the education system in the Donetsk region is functioning despite relocation and ongoing security challenges. The priorities for educators and teachers in the region are retaining staff, digitalization, rebuilding schools in remote, safe regions, and supporting students.