Switzerland allocates $6.1 million for renovation and furnishing 30 Ukrainian schools

Switzerland is providing around CHF 5.5 million ($6.1 million) for the renovation and furnishing of some 30 Ukrainian schools.

The aim is to ensure that nearly 15,000 schoolchildren have access to a "decent and safe" education, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday.

What is the problem?

According to the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, as of February 2023, Russians had destroyed or damaged 1,702 schools and 1,069 kindergartens. In total, 10% of Ukraine's educational infrastructure was affected by Russian shelling.

261 schools and 127 kindergartens in Ukraine have been completely destroyed by Russian shelling and are beyond repair.

Educational institutions suffered the most in the frontline areas.

What is the solution?

Switzerland allocates $6.1 million for the renovation and furnishing 30 Ukrainian schools.

How does it work?

This money will be used to rebuild schools in the Chernihiv, Odesa, and Poltava regions directly affected by the fighting.

The plan is to set up secure multi-purpose classrooms to ensure uninterrupted learning, even during air raid warnings.

The Swiss government emphasized that full-time education is a basic need for students. In particular, it "facilitates the integration of displaced children and their families into host communities."

Russian military aggression has dealt a severe blow to Ukraine's education sector. Thousands of schools across the country have been damaged or destroyed, and many teachers have fled the conflict zones, thereby disrupting the education of millions of students, the ministry said. 

The CHF5.5 million is in addition to a CHF140 million aid package requested by the government in February and approved by parliament. Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis approved the amount of CHF 5.5 million.

The amount will go to the Decentralisation for Improved Democratic Education (DECIDE) project. The foreign ministry said the DECIDE project was being implemented in close cooperation with the Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science, the Ukrainian Ministry for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development, and local authorities.