OPINION: Diary: What’s it Like to Study in Modern Ukrainian Realities?

I’m writing this text on a laptop with the hope that I will have time to finish writing before the electricity is turned off. And I still need to have time to prepare dinner and go to online lessons. Most likely, I won’t get a lesson today…

This year I enrolled to earn  a higher master’s degree in journalism at university. In Ukraine, this is not mandatory, but I wanted to try. I understood that it would be difficult to study in wartime, because, for example, there might be an air raid – and then I’ll have to go to a shelter. But I also understood that online education, introduced during the war, would be easier to combine with my work.

Actually, that’s how it turned out. Students began to study online at universities, children, depending on the region – online or offline – at schools. And in fact, everything was going well until the moment when Russia launched a massive missile attack on Ukraine on Monday, Oct. 10, specifically targeting energy facilities. Then, electricity was lost in a number of regions. And later, the authorities announced that they would have to introduce rolling power cuts in order to bring the Ukrainian power system back to normal.

This situation continues to this day. In particular, people in Kyiv are without “light” every day for about 8-12 hours. In addition, the energy company Ukrenergo has reported that rolling power cuts will become more severe in the near future.

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And this is actually a big problem for institutions that don’t have their own generator or even for ordinary people, because recently, due to power outages, appliances have started to break down on a mass scale.

However, I want to talk more about the problems faced by schoolchildren and students. Usually, an outage occurs precisely during the daytime period when electricity consumption is at its highest. There is a schedule for power outages, but in reality, outages do not always match up with the schedule.

So, it turns out that I can calmly sit in front of my gadget during a lesson, without suspecting anything, when suddenly the lights go out and the Wi-Fi is lost. In addition, when electricity disappears, mobile Internet starts to deteriorate. So, I miss the lesson, so later on I have to make up the material myself.

While it is easier for adults to do this, small children encounter certain problems. In addition, homework often has to be done in the dark. Some educational institutions are currently developing a new curriculum to send schoolchildren on vacation,  but we do not know what will happen next.

For example, Russia can continue to bomb the country’s energy system, which it does, and the situation will only become more critical. So far, the Ministry of Education and Science is not talking about any backup plans. But the Ukrainians themselves treat such actions with respect, because they understand the historical times we live in today and the only one to blame is Russia.

In particular, if we talk about my university, the teachers are understanding if a student does not appear online. Subsequently, he or she is asked to complete additional tasks so as to earn he appropriate score. Friends from other educational institutions have told me about the same system.

The war has made adjustments in all areas of life. Today, every Ukrainian has matches, lighters, candles and flashlights at home. But as long as we are alive, we know what we are fighting for. And we believe that after our victory, Ukraine will become even stronger and better than it was before.

I hope to have a lesson today.

For now, dear readers!

The views expressed in this opinion article are the author’s and not necessarily those of Kyiv Post.