Schools and universities may switch to distance learning until January 19, Svyrydenko says
On Thursday, January 8, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted a decision on organizing the educational process in Ukraine for the period of a sharp cold snap.
As Censor.NET reports, this was stated in a message by Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko published on her Telegram channel.
The decision applies to educational institutions of all levels and provides for a temporary suspension of in-person learning, taking into account the security and weather situation in the regions.
Transition of educational institutions to distance learning
According to Yuliia Svyrydenko, the Ministry of Education and Science, together with other executive authorities and the regional and Kyiv City Military Administrations, has been tasked with ensuring that kindergartens, schools, colleges, and universities transition to distance learning or extend winter holidays at least until January 19, 2026.
This concerns preschool, general secondary, vocational pre-tertiary, and higher education institutions. Final decisions will be made taking into account the conclusions of commissions on technogenic and environmental safety and emergencies, as well as the actual situation in the regions.
"We must promptly resolve the issue of temporarily suspending in-person learning and switching to a distance format or extending the holidays," Svyrydenko said.
Recommendations for enterprises and institutions
In addition to the education sector, the Cabinet recommended that the regional and Kyiv City Military Administrations, together with emergency commissions, consider the possibility of switching enterprises, institutions, and organizations to remote work.
At the same time, the prime minister stressed that these recommendations do not apply to critical infrastructure facilities and other entities that cannot work remotely under martial law.
The government emphasizes that the key priority remains citizens’ safety, protecting children’s health, and ensuring the uninterrupted operation of critically important systems.
- Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the government would prepare a decision to allow non-critical institutions to keep people at home for the period of worsening weather conditions.
- We also wrote that due to severe weather conditions, 75,000 families in Kyiv region were left without electricity.
