Founders of one of the most successful Lithuanian digital school have opened an online school for Ukrainian refugee students where they can learn according to Ukraine’s educational program. The Ukrainian School is designed to accommodate 80K students who recently relocated to Lithuania, Poland, Germany, and other European countries
Lithuanians have opened an online school for Ukrainian children currently afflicted by the war. Supported by Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, the Ukrainian School allows Ukrainian children in grades 1 through 11 to continue with their studies according to their home country’s educational program. The online platform accepts refugee children from Lithuania as well as other European countries—Poland, Romania, Moldova, Germany, and others.
Given that already over 5M Ukrainians have fled the country since the beginning of the war on February 24th, school-age children, who are estimated to constitute up to 30% of refugees, face issues with continuing their education. Lithuanian schools have started to admit refugee students where they learn in Lithuanian according to the country’s national education program. However, the Ukrainian School ensures that children are given the option to also study in their native language according to Ukraine’s education program, and therefore serves as a complementary tool for informal, after-hours education.
As the leader of the country’s educational system with projects like city-wide open school underway, Vilnius actively supports the initiative and aims to facilitate the integration of refugees who have relocated to the city as well as the continuation of their children’s education in both the Lithuanian and Ukrainian languages.
The studies are provided in cooperation with Artivon-Delfin High School in Vinnytsia, Ukraine, which has already formed a group of 24 certified teachers to teach online. The Ukrainian School’s current capacity allows to admit is 80K children, and already over 1,000 pupils have started their online courses. As more students register, the creators will be ready to expand the platform and accommodate every new pupil.
The platform was designed by the creators of “Memby”, one of the most modern online learning tools in Europe, who also created a successfully-operating Lithuanian online school “Digiklasė.”
“Equipped with multiple options, the platform allows teachers to interact with students in a number of ways—in writing, through a camera, spontaneous pop quizes, questions real-time, etc.,” said Mantas Stonkus, one of the founders of Ukrainian online school. “Also students have the option to talk to each other and form online relations, and all classes are recorded and can be watched at a later time.”
Although the platform offers free education to Ukrainain children, the organizers are inviting private donors, businesses, and organizations to support the initiative and help ensure Ukrainian youth education. More information about the initiative is available on the Ukrainian School official website at www.ukrainianschool.eu.
