During her official visit to Rome, the Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada held a working meeting with the Minister of Education and Merit of the Italian Republic, Giuseppe Valditara.
The parties focused on the educational needs of Ukrainian children. Italy has sheltered 191,000 internally displaced persons from Ukraine. Of these, 60 thousand are minors. 21,000 children were enrolled in Italian schools.
For two years in a row, with the assistance of the Italian authorities, Ukrainian children have been taking the National Multisubject Test (NMT) in Rome and Milan. "We are very grateful for this help!" said Olena Kondratiuk.
However, for a significant number of children who are already integrated into Italian schools, it is quite difficult to continue their studies under the Ukrainian educational programme at the same time, the Vice Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada noted.
"I took this opportunity to ask the Italian Government to consider opening a Ukrainian secondary school in one of the country's cities. I know that this initiative is supported by our Ministry of Education.
It is essential for our children to maintain a direct connection with Ukraine. So that they do not lag behind in their studies and are ready to successfully continue to acquire their knowledge when they return home. It is also an opportunity to employ Ukrainian teachers who are forced to stay in Italy," argued Olena Kondratiuk.
The Vice-Speaker stressed that it is also valuable for Ukraine that Italy has decided to pay special attention to supporting the Ukrainian education system as part of its G7 presidency. The education sector has suffered serious losses and destruction as a result of russia's full-scale invasion.
In his turn, Italian Minister of Education and Merit Giuseppe Valditara said that he had taken the initiative, together with other relevant ministers of the G7 countries, to develop a plan to help rebuild and equip educational institutions in Ukraine. This plan is also based on a new philosophy – the safety of Ukrainian schools in times of war.