By September 1, Ukrainian schools received only half of the textbooks

By September 1, Ukrainian schools received only half of the textbooks

In Zhytomyr Oblast, just before September 1, schools received only 25% of the required textbooks, while direct delivery under the new mechanism accounts for about 14%.

This was reported by Serhiy Babak, the head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Education, Science, and Innovation.

According to him, in Volyn Oblast, less than 40% of textbooks have reached schools, while in Kirovohrad Oblast, it is slightly less than half. In Khmelnytskyi Oblast, the figure stands at 45.63%. In Kyiv, where logistics should function better, the needs of educational institutions have been met by only 55%, as stated by the head of the Committee on Education, Science, and Innovation.

However, in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, the situation looks more optimistic, with the highest rate in the country at 71.33%. In Lviv Oblast, the figure is slightly lower at 66.32%.

"There are just over 10 days left until the start of the new academic year. This means there is still some, though limited, time to rectify the situation and ensure every child has access to quality education," — emphasized Babak.

In his post on Telegram, Babak mentioned that by September 1, Ukrainian schools were supposed to receive 8.7 million textbooks for 8th-grade students under the New Ukrainian School (NUSH) program, 30,000 copies in Braille, and nearly 312,000 textbooks for children with special educational needs. A total of 1,402,457.6 UAH was allocated for this purpose.

In particular, 110 agreements were signed for the supply of textbooks for 8th grades (8.6 million copies). Of these, 67.3% were to be delivered through regional book depots, while the rest were to be supplied under the new mechanism. However, as of August 18, only 4.1 million copies (78.6%) had reached schools, and under the new mechanism, only 307,000 out of 2.8 million (10.64%) had been delivered, as Babak noted.

"Overall, out of the 8.7 million planned textbooks, only 4,462,691 copies have reached schools so far, which is just 51.18%," — stated the committee head.

In the case of textbooks for children with special needs, funds were allocated to print 30,000 copies in Braille, but only 6 contracts were signed for printing 6,549 textbooks, none of which have been delivered to schools yet. Meanwhile, for children with visual impairments, such textbooks are the only learning tool.