The pandemic, a full -scale war and a demographic crisis have caused a powerful stroke in Ukraine. The gardens are undergraduate, the queues have disappeared, and in many regions the question arises - not to open, but on the contrary to "preserve" establishments. Anastasia Konovalova, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine on Preschool Education, told this in an interview with Media Education.
According to her, the greatest challenge today is not only in reducing the number of children, but in the fact that more than 86% of children from the frontline regions have delays in the development of social and emotional intelligence. They have been detached from the team for years, without being able to play with peers, and often even visit kindergartens.
The children did not acquire the key skills that are formed through play and social interaction. And this, says Konovalova, is no longer just a question of preparing for school - it is a matter of health of whole generation.
The situation is complicated by the inability to provide safe conditions for children in the frontal regions. The Ministry of Education and Science recognizes that the Council of Europe's recommendation on high involvement of children in preschool education is impossible to fulfill now. Therefore, the state launches a decision to create underground kindergartens and mobile educational centers. But, as the official emphasizes, these decisions are temporary.
Paradoxically, now the involvement of children in preschool education has increased to 73%. However, this is not due to improving access, but with a demographic downturn: children just got less.
“Until 2023, it was necessary to get in line in the garden. And today there are no queues in Zhytomyr, ”Konovalova explains. In small cities and villages, the situation is even worse - shelters are repaired, and new groups can no longer recruit.
In order to preserve the network of establishments, the Ministry of Education and Science is prepared for "conservation" of kindergartens - with the possibility of recovery in the future. This painful word-"conservation"-reminds many of the 1990s, when education institutions disappeared forever. But this time, says Konovalova, the state will carefully store the material and technical base-waiting for the baby boom after the victory.
In order to avoid closure, the ministry expands the opportunities of kindergartens: they will open a nursery for children from three months, because the economy also needs moms to go to work. Alternative formats will also develop: minisades, family kindergartens, mobile groups.
Family kindergarten is when mom raises several children in her own home, registering as a FOP. Minisades are even more compact, up to five children, and can function even in apartments. It is important that these models finally come out of the shadows and fall under state control.
Great challenge - providing preschool education for children with special educational needs. Not every kindergarten has specialists, so specialized establishments will be opened. This corresponds to European practices - even in Finland there are separate kindergartens for children with complex diagnoses.
Pedagogical partnership centers and child development centers will also become part of the reform. They will allow parents to choose a flexible format - for example, only music or foreign language, instead of a full day in the OS.
In war and crisis, pre -school education has become no less important than school. And it is this sector that is the first to feel the consequences and demographic catastrophe, and you want to believe, future Renaissance.
