Spain has now welcomed more than 80,000 Ukrainian refugees, many of whom are women and children. 7,100 of these children are currently attending school in Spain. The government is coming up with an emergency plan to provide these children with education and the necessary support.
The Ministry of Education said this week that 7,100 Ukrainian children are currently attending school in Spain. The Ministry estimates that eventually there will be about 20,000. Most Ukrainian children currently attend school in Catalonia, Valencia, Madrid, and Andalucia. Half of these children go to Primaria (primary school), a quarter to ESO (secondary education), 23% to pre-primary education, and 2% to higher education.
More teachers and more support for refugee children
To provide the correct education, and to cope with this emergency, more teachers are urgently needed. And that is quite a challenge since Spain was already struggling with a teacher problem before the war. Not only the language barrier is one of the challenges, additional psychological care, and educational support is also needed to adequately care for these children.
Spanish government comes with emergency plan
However, teachers from Ukraine have recently been appointed at various schools to help solve the problem. To promote the integration of the young children, specific educational materials will be provided in Ukrainian and Spanish. The Ministry of Education announced these measures, among other things, on March 30. They are part of the approved emergency plan that the Ministry has agreed with the autonomous regional authorities.
Currently, as soon as they have a residence, children are placed in a peer-to-peer class. Then, their language barrier, and their level of education is determined. Following this, the child will enter at the correct level and will receive additional support if necessary.
Accelerated recognition of diplomas in Spain
Sources at the Ministry of Education state that young adults’ diplomas will be recognised as soon as possible to enable them to continue their studies in Spain. The Ministry wants to do the same for adults, including many women. Their obtained diplomas and titles should be recognised as soon as possible so they can also practice their own profession in Spain. The latter is already the case with the Ukrainian teachers who are now teaching classes in Spain.
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