World Vision Romania: Only 16% of Ukrainian children in Romania enrolled in school

Only 16% of Ukrainian children in Romania are enrolled in the state education system. The number is low due to the reluctance of parents, language barriers, and lack of knowledge regarding the legislation on the recognition of studies, according to a study by World Vision Romania.

A total of 7,353 Ukrainian children are enrolled in the Romanian education system, despite the fact that roughly 47,000 have temporarily settled in the country, according to World Vision Romania figures cited by Agerpres.

In addition to the children enrolled in the education system, just over 16,000 Ukrainians are registered as auditors in Romanian schools. The auditor status means that the student will attend classes and be present in school registers but will not take tests or receive grades.

The child can only receive grades if officially registered as a student in the Romanian education system and follows the procedure for the recognition of studies completed in Ukraine.

World Vision Romania has provided non-formal formal learning for 9,110 refugee children from Ukraine in 13 locations throughout the country this school year through Happy Bubble centers. Romanian language lessons are taught, children have access to online schooling in Ukraine, they participate in non-formal education sessions to strengthen their life skills, psychological first aid counseling activities, integration activities in the community through sports and art, and some of them also receive a hot meal.

Ukrainian children can attend Happy Bubble centers in the cities of Bucharest, Constanta, Ramnicu Valcea, Baile Olanesti, Ocnele Mari, Calimanesti, Iasi, Suceava, Cluj Napoca, Brasov, and Galati. Currently, over 3,300 children attend Happy Bubble centers and are preparing to participate in Summer School programs.

According to a study conducted by World Vision Romania in February, over 80% of parents believe that their children have experienced learning losses due to the war.

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