During the two years of its full-scale invasion, the terrorist country of Russia has destroyed 131 public libraries, and nearly 750 more are in need of repair. The enemy is also targeting educational institutions and printing houses. In particular, after the Russian attack on 23 May on one of the largest printing houses in Europe, Factor-Druk, the question arose: will there be enough textbooks for schoolchildren this year? [Kommersant] has found out whether parents should rush to buy books on their own and how many textbooks are available today
The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine said that the Factor Printing House in Kharkiv, which was attacked by Russia, was preparing 1 to 3% of textbooks, so schoolchildren will not have any problems with the supply of books.
However, there are some difficulties with textbooks in the Kharkiv region. Olha Rahulina, head of the school library in the village of Huty, Bohodukhiv district, told 
“In grade 5, there is a lack of Ukrainian language books. There are currently 14 copies, and there will be 19 children. We will have to borrow them from other schools. I usually borrow from school No. 2 in Bohodukhiv, as they have stocks. So far, we have received 5 titles of textbooks for the 7th grade under the new curriculum with new authors. As for the 9th grade, the books were published a long time ago and are torn,” says Olga Rahulina, head of the school library.
However, the educator notes that there is hope that the required number of textbooks will be available by the start of the school year, and that they will be redistributed among libraries. At the same time, there are no problems with primary school classes, adds the head of the school library. After all, schoolchildren use a special programme, and they have notebooks with rules and tasks right away.
During the martial law period, children also got used to using electronic textbooks, although parents still prefer printed ones.
Teachers complain about the quality of textbooks
Some teachers are also concerned about the quality of textbooks. The head of a school in Kyiv’s Fastiv district, who wished to remain anonymous, specifically for
“The textbooks on Ukrainian language and literature for the 5th grade, which were brought last year, were of poor quality. Grey paper with fingerprints on it. Moreover, they did not correspond to the curriculum,” the teacher
In 2023, textbooks, for example, for the 6th grade, were delivered late. But books that were less important for students, such as labour training, were even unnecessary, adds the head teacher from Kyiv region. However, parents are not forced to buy textbooks, but find a way out of the situation.
“We switched on monitors, displayed a textbook downloaded from the Internet, and taught lessons in this way,” the teacher said
Parents should not rush to the market to buy textbooks
The Committee on Education, Science and Innovation in the Verkhovna Rada is aware of all the problems and how to solve them. In an exclusive commentary for Kommersant Ukrainsky, the head of the committee, Serhiy Babak, explains that the Ministry of Finance financed only two-thirds of the total amount needed for all children in the country last year. The rest is funded through cooperation with donors.
“Some things are successful, some are more difficult. But I wouldn’t criticise either the Ministry of Finance or the Ministry of Education and Science for this. Because this is already a huge amount of money if you translate it into the number of drones, which is often asked by the public,” says Babak
The lack of textbooks in a particular school is also a matter of distribution between educational institutions, adds the head of the Verkhovna Rada Education Committee. He says that the Ministry used to send textbooks to the regions, and the regions themselves distribute them among communities and educational institutions. Moreover, electronic textbooks are also available to ensure access to education.
“E-textbooks are a mandatory part of a regular textbook, and all electronic versions of all textbooks are available on state resources to modernise the content of education, and this is done for convenience. Because there is such a request from some children and parents,” – Serhiy Babak
The quality of textbooks is a debatable issue. There are standards for the quality of education, and everyone has their own preferences for the colour and thickness of the pages in a book, Babak adds.
The most important thing is that in 2023, despite the war in Ukraine, the state supplied almost 100 per cent of textbooks for the first time since Ukraine’s independence , says Babak.
“We delivered 99% of textbooks to the regions by 1 September 2023. Therefore, the question of what parents buy somewhere on the market should be asked by school principals, and they, respectively, by regional departments. As of 2 August 2024, 55% of all textbooks that are supposed to be delivered have already been delivered. 99.8% have been printed,” said Babak
So, summing up, the head of the Committee on Education, Science and Innovation in the Verkhovna Rada assures that by 1 September, all regions will receive 100% of the books. After all, the bar raised by the state in 2023 is not going to be lowered.
Author – Anastasia Fedor