In the temporarily occupied territories, Russia is massively imposing its own propaganda history on Ukrainian children. To achieve this, the occupiers are dismantling the Ukrainian education system and building their own model according to Russian standards. This was stated by stated Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets.
In particular, from 2028, an mandatory oral history exam will be introduced for 9th-grade graduates in the TOT. Formally, students will be required to know chronology and argumentation skills. However, in conditions where education is conducted using textbooks from the Russian Federation, this turns into a test of assimilation of occupation narratives.
The Ombudsman noted that the fight for children from occupied territories is a matter of saving them from the systematic influence of the enemy, therefore Ukraine must act proactively and create conditions for them to travel to controlled territories.
In this regard, the Ombudsman made a number of proposals to the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine:
Develop and approve a unified, stable admission procedure to universities for individuals from the TOT.
Ensure a systemic information campaign regarding admission conditions, simplified procedures, and required documents.
Introduce separate statistical accounting for applicants from the TOT.
Develop and submit to the Government for consideration a draft Concept for access to education for children and youth from the TOT, along with an action plan for its implementation.
According to Lubinets, creating real conditions for obtaining a Ukrainian education is the only way to preserve the identity of young people and ensure their future in Ukraine.
Recall that, according to the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ombudsman, there are about 600,000 Ukrainian children of school age in occupation alone, and the total number of minors in the TOT reaches 1.6 million. As of now, Ukraine has managed to locate and verify 19,546 children abducted and deported to Russia.
