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Persistent attacks mean that only about a third of school-age
children there are attending classes fully in person and many
are forgetting what they have already learned, it said.
Beyond Ukraine, more than half of the children whose families
have fled the conflict to seven countries are not enrolled in
national education, UNICEF said, citing language barriers and
overstretched education systems.
Some schools have suffered direct hits and others have closed
down as a precaution in 18 months of missile and artillery
attacks on residential areas across the country.
"Inside Ukraine, attacks on schools have continued unabated,
leaving children deeply distressed and without safe spaces to
learn," it said.
The war followed COVID disruptions, meaning some Ukrainian
children were facing a fourth consecutive school year of
disruptions as they return to classes this week after the summer
break, UNICEF said.
"Not only has this left Ukraine's children struggling to
progress in their education, but they are also struggling to
retain what they learnt when their schools were fully
functioning," said Regina De Dominicis, UNICEF Regional Director
for Europe and Central Asia.
Around half of Ukraine's teachers have reported a deterioration
in students' abilities in language, reading and mathematics, it
said, and they have missed out on the sense of safety and
friendships school can provide to those enduring war.
(Reporting by Emma Farge; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
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