Early years will be at the heart of Ukraine’s recovery
Young children at the Zagalytsiv Lyceum kindergarten in Kyiv, which Theirworld visited to understand some of the early years issues in Ukraine (Theirworld/Brandcom)
More than 300,000 young children in Ukraine – about one in five – have no access to in-person preschool education. And nearly nine in 10 under-sixes who live near the conflict frontlines risk falling behind in their social and emotional development.
Many of these children were born just before the Covid-19 pandemic. They have been exposed to toxic stress in the crucial first years of brain development and been denied regular opportunities for play, learning and nurturing care. This could have severe consequences and cause lasting harm.
Against this backdrop, the government of Ukraine and an alliance of more than 20 partners – including Theirworld, UNICEF and the World Bank – have pledged to implement a series of measures to put the early years at the centre of the country’s rebuilding efforts. The World Bank has made an initial contribution of $30 million to support the changes.
The system reforms announced at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome today follow through on an earlier commitment made at an event to launch the Act For Early Years campaign. At that event, held during the 2023 United Nations General Assembly in New York, Ukraine’s government announced a partnership with Theirworld to transform the lives of the youngest children in the war-torn country.
Dr Yevhen Kudriavets, First Deputy Minister for Education and Science, told the event: “Ukraine is committed to be an Act for the Early Years champion – even during a crisis.” He added: “We are committed to reforming our system and increasing the coverage for three to five-year-old children across the country.”
Ukraine now has the plan in place to reform preschool education. A statement released at the Ukraine Recovery Conference today said the government and the alliance “recognise the urgent need to advance quality, inclusive and resilient early childhood and preschool education (ECPE) as a foundational pillar for Ukraine’s reconstruction and future development”.
It said the current preschool education system was not designed for a country at war. It needs to be transformed to reach children through mobile kindergartens, care based at home or in the workplace, and through other flexible methods.
The government said Ukraine’s Strategic Framework for Early Childhood and Preschool Education, finalised last month, will guide national efforts to rebuild and modernise the system and ensure no child is left behind. The framework is part of Ukraine’s First Steps Forward initiative to transform the early years.
Theirworld President Justin van Fleet said: “The first five years of a child’s life are crucial to their development – and Ukraine is making incredible strides as a champion putting early childhood front and centre. Investment in today’s young people will determine the ability of Ukrainians to eventually rebuild their country and form a lasting peace.”
Oksen Lisovyi, Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, said today: “Human capital is every country’s most valuable resource and early childhood education is key to developing it. Over the past months, we have taken an important step in this direction: a new law on early childhood education has been adopted and a regulatory framework has been developed that significantly transforms the system.”