The total investment in the New Ukrainian School and in formation of the New Educational Space amounted to more than UAH 7 billion, and these investments need to be continued, said Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman during a traditional August conference on preparation for the new academic year "New Ukrainian School - Challenges and Prospects for Education Reform".

The conference is attended by about 650 people - teachers from all over Ukraine, tutors, representatives of local authorities, heads ofamalgamated hromadas, as well as representatives of international organisations with representative offices in Ukraine. The essential component of the conference is exhibitions of textbooks published at the expense of the state budget,  presentation of electronic educational resources and the latest educational tools. Moreover, at this year's conference augmented reality textbooks, classroom management software, a SMART teacher case containing 15,000 interactive math and Ukrainian language lessons for elementary school pupils, and a line of electronic pedagogical games for elementary students are presented. Most of the exhibits are domestic developments. The presentation of the food systems  in schools and children's camps became the attention grabber. More than 1,000 school food services across Ukraine are working under the new recipes, and the maximum plan for developers is to switch all Ukrainian schools into new standards of nutrition.

Addressing the educators and conference participants, the Prime Minister noted that education is the topmost priority, since education is not just a sphere of life. "This is the sphere that determines our present and future. For our government, education is the highest priority: from pre-school to high school we have many professions, tasks and problems. But the issues of education and educators should become an overriding priority. The educational system became a starting point for engineers, servicemen and doctors", the Head of Government stressed.

In this context, Volodymyr Groysman placed a special emphasis on the need to support and strengthen respect for the Ukrainian teacher. On the part of the Government, this step is encapsulated in the programmes of regular increase of teachers’ salaries. Thus, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved the decision to increase wages for coaches of children's and youth sports schools by 20-70% since 1 January 2020 with an emphasis on supporting young teachers. "We invested UAH 7 billion in the New Ukrainian School. And now we must make sure that a single educational space is formed in line with the tasks and priorities. There should be no queues to kindergartens, no shortage of schools or lack of funding. It is important not to stop but to continue what has been done", the Prime Minister stressed.

Background

The sum worth UAH 3.8 billion was directed for the programs of the New Ukrainian School. Moreover, this year a separate funding for projects for the creation  and repair of existing sports complexes at secondary schools of all levels was allocated.  More than 80 projects have already been approved for implementation. The reform of education and the formation of the New Ukrainian School made Ukraine one of the countries that undergo fundamental educational changes in view of the economic, political and social transformations of the world.