On the occasion of the Day of Educators, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with teachers and school principals at the National Complex "Expocenter of Ukraine" in Kyiv.
"Teachers and heads of those institutions that are in the lead from year to year and are the best in terms of external independent testing are gathered here," Deputy Head of the President's Office Yuriy Kostiuk said.
The Head of State stressed that educators are the future of our children, and therefore the future of Ukraine.
"We will definitely improve the conditions in which our educators work, we set such tasks for the government," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
According to him, it is not only about the financial side, but also about respect and working conditions.
“A teacher is a hard and important profession, he or she cannot be sensitive to what happens outside of school, in personal life. He or she must always be focused and always on guard for the safety and development of children. We want to fight for education, we want to help," the President stressed.
Acting Minister of Education and Science Serhiy Shkarlet expressed confidence that educators will notice the largest in the last eight years budget for 2021, which is planned to be approved. This is plus UAH 34 billion.
"The things that are happening next are the “Great Construction” of not only roads, but also a significant number of educational facilities. Today, the President instructed to create a part of the pre-scientific infrastructure. That is, museums and the involvement of children in scientific research in general," Serhiy Shkarlet said.
For his part, Ivan Deputovych, principal of the Perehins'ke Secondary School of I-III Degrees № 1 in the Rozhniativ district of the Ivano-Frankivsk region asked the President to pay attention to the problem of educators' insurance during the pandemic.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that the issue of insurance for educators and pupils has become especially relevant with the beginning of the educational process. Now it is necessary to understand the possibilities, cost and timing in which this can be done.
"The question that arises is to insure everyone. We see statistics and see that teachers are at risk. We need to think about insurance for them so that they understand that we care about them, so that they feel safe," the Head of State stressed.
In addition, the issues of training new teachers, as well as the preservation of rural schools during decentralization were raised. The President of Ukraine understands that schools are the basis of the village, and therefore they must be preserved and developed.