In the occupied parts of Ukraine, children secretly attend Ukrainian schools

 

Despite the intimidation and threats by the Russian invaders, there are still families in the occupied territories of Ukraine whose children continue their education according to the Ukrainian curriculum. Where possible, some study online with their teachers who have left the occupied parts of Ukraine. There are teachers who remained in the occupation, and at their own risk and responsibility, they teach online lessons in the Ukrainian language.

Among the latter is a woman who agreed to speak anonymously to DW. She is not only a teacher, but also the mother of a child who goes to school: "In the morning, my child goes to school, where we are forced to speak Russian with the students and show Russian books." In the evening, we give the children online lessons in Ukrainian and teach them everything we have," says a woman who lives in the occupied territory of the Kherson region.

According to her, for almost a year of occupation, their school did not work, and the children studied only online according to the Ukrainian program.

But in August 2023, Russian soldiers came to the teachers and forced them to start the education process using Russian curriculum, Russian textbooks and Russian language.

"It is difficult, because none of the children in our village speak Russian, the children simply do not understand it, especially in high school. That's why we formally teach there, and teach and study at home in the evening. But this is provided that there is an internet connection. Very often the internet is weak or there is none at all," says the woman.

 

School under occupation: intimidation and coercion - everyday reality

 

A study by Amnesty International, published on December 11, mentions this situation with education in schools in Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia. Based on the testimony of 23 workers in the education sector and 16 families with school-age children who lived or still live under Russian occupation, human rights defenders documented how the educational process takes place under the conditions of occupation.

As reported by Amnesty International with reference to the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, until December 24, 2022, about 918 educational institutions for children aged six to 17 were located in the territories occupied by the Russian Federation in Ukraine, and in these educational institutions , Russia has turned education into a propaganda machine to raise children, including distorting history and trying to eradicate Ukrainian culture and identity.

"In the territories occupied by Russia, intimidation and coercion are a daily reality for families, children and teaching staff. No one can be safe in Russia's continuing campaign of terror in Ukraine," said Amnesty International representative Anna Wright.

 

Students and parents turned into "guerrillas"

 

Despite the risk of persecution a few months after the beginning of the occupation, some teachers and parents tried to organize schooling according to the Ukrainian curriculum. Teaching staff, students and parents, according to one interviewee interviewed by Amnesty International, have turned into "guerrillas, digging holes in their kindergartens to hide laptops and mobile phones or hiding in attics and old sheds to catch a mobile phone signal. " for conducting online classes according to the Ukrainian program.

School librarian Uliana (all names in the study have been changed for security reasons) told Amnesty International that she had to secretly arrange meetings with pupils and students to hand over books, despite Russian military patrols on the streets of their village, often carrying out unfounded searches.

 

Threats to parents and children with divorce and deportation to Russia

 

In its research, Amnesty International emphasizes that, faced with resistance and reluctance to learn in schools according to the Russian curriculum, the Russian army blackmails parents by threatening to take their children away and deport them to Russia.

Human rights activists cite the example of Ksenia, the mother of 15-year-old Kiril from an occupied village in the Kherson region. In the spring of 2022, the teacher visited them and asked the boy if he would start school when the education process begins. The woman refused to let her son go to school, where the education took place according to the Russian curriculum.

"At the beginning of September, men in Russian military uniforms came and told them that if the boy did not show up at school tomorrow, a bus would come next week and take him to a shelter in Russia. Kiril returned to the school where he found the school plastered with Russian state symbols, and armed guards at the entrance and inside," the Amnesty International study states.

A teacher from the occupied community of Berdjan in Zaporozhye, who left the occupied territories in July 2022, continues to hold lectures online for children under occupation, told Amnesty International that children in schools are forced to sing the Russian national anthem, and those who refuse are threatened with to take them away from their parents for "re-education in Russian orphanages".

According to human rights defenders, students are forced to write reports: students were given a letter encouraging them to tell everything they know about Ukrainian attitudes in society.

 

Requirements for the creation of a Ukrainian online school for the occupied territories

 

The coordinator of the public organization "Donbas-SOS" Violeta Artemchuk points out that in the occupied territories it is becoming increasingly dangerous and difficult for parents and children with a pro-Ukrainian position to study online in a Ukrainian school.

"All sites with online lessons in Ukrainian are blocked. To bypass the block, you need to install very powerful VPN services. The occupiers are very carefully checking all the devices of children and parents, looking for those who continue to study in Ukrainian schools," Artemchuk told DW.

According to her, many parents eventually agree to send their children to schools with the Russian curriculum.

 

"After all, they are promised advantages - free visits to clubs, swimming pools, etc. And all this only in exchange for a Russian passport," says the human rights activist.

At the same time, Artemchuk continues, the "Donbas-SOS" telephone line continues to receive calls from parents and students from the occupied territories asking them to explain where, on which platforms and how to get Ukrainian education.

"These are mostly high school graduates who want to improve their knowledge in the subjects they will need for enrollment in Ukrainian educational institutions," explained the human rights activist.

Therefore, it would be worthwhile to create a unique Ukrainian internet school, whose program would be adapted to the needs of children in the occupied territories and take into account the peculiarities of learning in such conditions, according to the representative of the Ukrainian center for civic education "Almenda" Valentina Potapova.

"In this online school, children could learn the Ukrainian language, Ukrainian history, Ukrainian law, and subjects such as physics and chemistry should be included as educational competencies," Potapova told DW.

Valentina Potopova urged not to repeat the mistakes of the past. According to her, public organizations offered to create such an online school back in 2014 after the occupation of Crimea and parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, but this was never done.

"During the 10 years of occupation, Ukraine lost an entire generation of children," says Potapova.