Over 80 schools in Moldova have been equipped with digital laboratories, called EDUTech, thanks to a partnership between UNICEF and the Ministry of Education and Research. 70 of them are already up and running.
The official launch took place during a field visit to the Mikhail Lomonosov Lyceum in Orhei, where more than 200 students, including 20 children from Ukraine, can now access more educational materials and activities thanks to this joint project. The event was organized to also mark two years of war in Ukraine, a period during which millions of children continue to need support for continuing their education. According to the latest data, two-thirds of the refugee children are not enrolled in national school systems in the host countries.
“We can't help but remember the reason the EduTech labs were created. The war in Ukraine is an act of violence against people who wanted to live freely. We have always condemned this in the strongest way and we are happy, on the one hand, that we can welcome our guests from Ukraine in the institutions of the Republic of Moldova and offer them education conditions that come close to those they had in their home country", declared Education Minister Dan Perciun.
The official thanked the partners for supporting the creation of this network of digital labs - a remote learning solution for children from Ukraine, and also the schools that opened their doors and welcomed these children as their own. “We will continue to invest in the digitization of the entire education system. This year, we will equip 235 schools with STEM classes, and we will invest more in what we call the Model Schools Network, but equally for all educational institutions in the country we will make an effort to equip them with interactive whiteboards and computers”, said Dan Perciun.
Maha Damaj, UNICEF Country Representative in Moldova, said that, as of today, slightly more than two thousand Ukrainian refugee children are enrolled in Moldovan schools and preschools. “At the EDUTech labs Ukrainian children connect to online learning platforms of the Ukrainian Ministry of Education, during school hours, under supervision and monitoring of Ukrainian or Moldovan teachers, in a safe and structured learning environment, mingling with their Moldovan peers, and this will hopefully facilitate their eventual enrollment in formal education”, said Maha Damaj.
The EDUTech laboratories will be equipped with modern equipment and materials in information technologies, allowing children and teachers to excel in education and unleash their full potential. Furthermore, all teachers and specialists working in the laboratories are trained to know the minimum standards in child protection, inclusive education, and gender-based violence prevention. They also learn how to provide psychosocial first aid, report cases of child abuse and neglect, and undergo training courses in IT and digital learning.
The project was initiated thanks to the financial support of the Government of the United Kingdom, the Government of Italy, and the United Nations global fund for education in emergencies Education Cannot Wait, in the context of the emergency response to the refugee crisis. The EduTech laboratories will facilitate the integration of refugee children into both formal and non-formal education activities, ensuring access to psychological counseling and information services.
