The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has donated 3.2 million U.S.-funded textbooks to Ukrainian schools. The new textbooks will be distributed to 12 thousand schools across Ukraine.
This was reported by USAID.
"Ukraine's youth are the future entrepreneurs, civic activists, teachers, doctors, and elected officials who will lead the country. However, years of disruptions in the education of young Ukrainians have largely prevented them from gaining the knowledge and skills they need to fully participate in building their country's future", USAID said.
USAID notes that the United States is providing assistance in all regions of Ukraine to restore access to education for Ukrainian youth. This assistance includes:
- Printing 3.2 million textbooks for students in grades 1-2 of primary school;
- Building Ukraine's first underground schools in Kharkiv;
- Creation of transitional learning centers that provide full-time education, etc.
In particular, during USAID Administrator Samantha Power's visit to the capital of Ukraine, the promised 3.2 million textbooks printed with USAID funds were handed over.
According to Power, these textbooks are just a fraction of the total amount that will be distributed to 12,000 primary schools in Ukraine. They cover subjects such as science, social studies, art and foreign languages. The new textbooks will be available to 20% of Ukraine's schoolchildren.
The administrator emphasized that these textbooks were supposed to be printed at the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, forcing Ukrainian students to use outdated materials. Ms. Power also mentioned the devastating attacks on printing plants, including Factor-Druk in Kharkiv.
USAID has invested $8 million to produce these textbooks in Ukraine, working closely with the Ministry of Education team. In addition, the agency is actively supporting the Ukrainian government's efforts to rebuild schools and construct shelters in some 10,000 educational facilities affected by Russian attacks.
Author: Danylo Pievchev