EU allocates EUR100M for rehabilitation of war-damaged schools

The European Union and Ukraine have signed an agreement on the assistance package in the amount of EUR100 million for the restoration of war-damaged educational facilities.

That's according to a report published by the EU Delegation to Ukraine.

"Exactly three months after President von der Leyen's announcement in her 2022 State of the Union Address, the European Commission and the Government of Ukraine have signed a €100 million support package for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of schooling facilities damaged in Russia's full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine. Support will reach Ukraine through the EU's humanitarian partners and partly as budget support to the Government of Ukraine," the report reads.

The assistance will flow into Ukraine through EU's humanitarian partners, and partially – as budgetary assistance to the Ukrainian government.

The European Commission has allocated around EUR14 million from an ongoing contract with the Polish Development Bank "Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego" to purchase school buses and bring Ukrainian children safely to school. The Commission has also launched an EU-wide solidarity campaign to donate school buses for Ukraine, channeled through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. Overall, around 240 buses are now on the way from the EU and its member states. More are coming, according to the report.

The assistance package includes EUR34 million in humanitarian aid, out of which EUR20 million channeled through the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and EUR14 million through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). This support will focus on light and medium repairs including repairs of windows, roofs, doors, sanitation and heating facilities, as well as providing classroom equipment in learning spaces and bomb shelters.

EUR66 million to be provided directly to the Ukrainian government as budget support.

The Commission will work together with the Ukrainian government and the Olena Zelenska Foundation.

"The Commission expects to disburse the €66 million of budget support in the next few weeks. UNOPS and UNDP have started the damage assessment of the facilities to rehabilitate on the ground. A majority of the educational facilities that will benefit from this grant are expected to be repaired, between December 2022 and September 2023, in time for the start of the next school year," the Delegation noted.

As reported, Russian strikes have damaged or destroyed over 2,800 education facilities so far, impacting 5.7 million school-aged children. Many simply do not have a classroom to go to.