ECW-funded EDUTech labs set up by UNICEF and the Ministry of Education demonstrate transformative power of digital education for Ukrainian youth in Moldova
On 22 February 2022, Nadejda’s life was turned upside down. Two years later, the 16-year-old still recalls the day clearly.
"It was an ordinary February day. I was getting ready for school, but then I saw the news and realized something terrible was happening. I was afraid that the missiles might hit our house too.”
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 sparked a deadly armed conflict – and for four weeks, Nadejda and her family sheltered in the basement of their building in Berezovca, fearing a missile strike. After it became clear that the situation was only growing more dangerous, they decided to flee for safety, settling in neighboring Moldova.
Nadejda’s entire life changed in an instant. She worried what her future would look like in a new country and after the abrupt disruption to her education.
Today, the teen is feeling settled, welcomed and learning again.
She spends much of her school day at the EDUTech lab at her new high school in Cahul, Moldova – where she’s able to connect to Ukrainian Ministry of Education platforms and continue her learning remotely. EDUTech labs were established by UNICEF and Moldova's Ministry of Education and Research, and are funded by Education Cannot Wait (ECW), the global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises within the United Nations, and the Governments of the United Kingdom and Italy.
While Nadejda have got a life line digital learning, there is some challenges in many displacement affected communities. these include but are not limited to the following barriers.
- In many Contexts, Children and Youth do not have access to digital devises ( Phones and ipads and laptops), they are unbale to access digital content.
- Internet access is very significant barrier - creating digital divide in many displacement affected communities in hard to reach (H2R) areas.
- There is lack of teaching forces as teacher's are faced with similar challenges.
- As many online systems are patented and licensed by their developers, its difficult to scale and adopt to local contexts.
- Governments in conflict affected settings do not have updated or revised curriculum materials, in cases they do its small scale and lack a well structured platform as these platforms are costly, therefore these authorities do not have resources.
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