At least 60 children from low-income families living in remote settlements in Kherson Oblast, Ukraine, now have better access to online education thanks to UNDP via the new pilot project.

This became possible following the piloting of the Local Socio-Economic Recovery project (LSER) by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine.

UNDP Regional Development Programme Manager Mustafa Sait-Ametov said that the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on social processes had exacerbated existing inequalities.

“Some people were left behind by the digital economy, with no access to online education,” Sait-Ametov said.

The UNDP expert underlined that continuing the educational process during the pandemic was extremely difficult for some families with children in remote communities. Although most teachers have the technical capacity to conduct online lessons, either from home or from school, some children – especially those from large, low-income families – cannot attend lessons because they lack devices that can connect to the Internet.

Under the project, the UNDP project procured devices and Wi-Fi routers, and provided broadband Internet coverage for communities and local schools. The total cost of the project was UAH 800,000 (U.S. $29,197), including UAH 550,000 ($20,073) provided by UNDP, and UAH 250,000 ($9,124) covered by Hryhorivka Village Council. The project’s duration was three months.

Sait-Ametov also noted that having a tablet or laptop and access to the Internet was one thing – having digital literacy was another. So the project organized a series of training sessions for both children and parents on the use of devices and software for online education. Teachers and local authorities also took part in a learning session to strengthen their knowledge in order to ensure the provision of online education services. As a result, their awareness of online education methods and tools was assessed to have increased by more than 50 percent.

The LSER project is a pilot project, and its goal is to support regional and local authorities in assessing and overcoming the socio-economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and to promote sustainable development. Its implementation in Kherson Oblast to strengthen local communities' resilience was a success.

“The challenges unleashed by the coronavirus pandemic require urgent, comprehensive and effective measures,” Sait-Ametov said. “It is crucial to leave no one behind and provide a consistent response during the pandemic.”

Originally published in Osvita.UA on 10 March 2021