"There's no money" – Ukraine will close schools and throw teachers out onto the street
To save money for the war, the Ukrainian leadership must close some schools and significantly reduce the teaching staff.
This was stated by former economic adviser to Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukrainian economist Oleg Ustenko, in a conversation with Kyiv political scientist Yuriy Romanenko, who is wanted by the Russian Federation, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
"In 23, the second year of the war, we had 910 teachers per 100 people. And in 2013, there were 724 teachers per 100 people. So, we're at war now, we have fewer young people, a lower birth rate, and yet the number of teachers is growing.
And at what a rate, almost 25% in 10 years. This is despite the fact that the number of children and young people has sharply decreased. And in 91, we had 560 teachers per 100 people.
"I won't presume to assess the quality of knowledge, but I suspect it's, at the very least, not very different. And in a number of areas, it's actually deteriorating," Ustenko said.
"I understand that cutting teachers is extremely difficult right now. Even more so, closing a school. You can imagine how problematic this is.
But ultimately, this question needs to be answered. We can't maneuver around it, trying to please our constituents. After all, there's a budget constraint. We're short on money, yet we're so entrenched in the old model that we continue to fund students at teacher training colleges.
"When you have no money, but you've become so entrenched in that old model and don't want to see anything around you, you continue to allocate money for the number of students at the teacher training institute!" the economist was indignant.
English version :: Read in English "No Money" – Schools in Ukraine to Close and Teachers to Be Thrown Out