Why children from occupied territories enter Russian universities

"The aggressor wants to capture not only our territory, but also our children. The Russians believe that Ukrainian children should become a new generation for the Russian army to continue the war against our country," said Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights.

Since 2014, Russia has been trying to erase the national identity of children living under occupation. A generation of students has grown up in Donetsk, Luhansk, and Crimea without hearing the Ukrainian anthem at the first bell. After the full-scale invasion, the number of such students increased. Therefore, the authorities must make every effort to ensure that during the war Ukrainian young people leave the temporarily occupied territories and enter Ukrainian higher education institutions.

However, a recent study has shown a significant decrease in the number of applicants from Crimea who choose higher education in the territory controlled by Ukraine during the full-scale war. In 2023, there were only 86 applicants compared to 397 in 2020. This indicates that there are problems that affect the decision of Ukrainian youth to leave their occupied home.

We look at why the government is not fighting enough for children under occupation and what needs to be changed to prevent Russians from erasing Ukrainian identity in the temporarily occupied territories.

Why is admission to Ukrainian universities important?

According to the Almenda Center of Civil Education, more than 615,000 school-age children in the temporarily occupied territories currently have limited access to Ukrainian education.

"Studying in Ukrainian educational institutions, even remotely, allows us to integrate children from TOT into our society, influence the formation of their value system, and remove them from the environment of anti-Ukrainian propaganda and disinformation," reads the report to the survey conducted by Almenda.

In addition, such young people can become role models for other children who remain under occupation. And in the future, they will help restore cities and villages after de-occupation. It is not only about rebuilding cities and villages, but also about the humanitarian component, entrepreneurship, culture, and education.

The Center of Civil Education notes that since the beginning of the war, Ukraine has been formulating state policy and creating regulations that should ensure access to Ukrainian education and eliminate discrimination created by the occupation authorities. At the same time, there is still not enough done.

In almost 10 years, the Ukrainian government has not developed a comprehensive approach to ensuring the educational rights of TOT residents, and individual initiatives, which have been implemented chaotically and unsystematically, cannot cover all the challenges that TOT residents face when trying to exercise their constitutional right to education.From the report of the Almenda Center of Civil Education

From 2014 to 2016, Ukraine had no policies to support applicants from the occupied territories. With limited access to Ukrainian secondary education, they had to enter universities on a general basis. That is, the conditions for integration into Ukrainian educational space were out of the question.

In 2016, Ukraine introduced quotas and privileges for applicants from the temporarily occupied territories. Five years later, the Crimea-Ukraine and Donbas-Ukraine educational centers were launched on the basis of higher or vocational higher education institutions. Their goal is to help young people from the occupied territories.

However, the number of applicants from the TOT is decreasing, and now it is critically low, Ombudsman Lubinets recently said at the event "Educational Compass for the Ukrainian Future for Youth from the TOT. The Almenda report was presented there.

Are the consequences of "brainwashing" already visible?

In 2023, 3,675 children from TOT entered Ukrainian higher education institutions. This is 1.7% of the total number of those enrolled in the bachelor's degree program in 2023.

It is worth noting that it is not officially possible to calculate how many students graduated from schools under occupation. The Crimean occupation authorities claimed that only half a percent of graduates entered Ukrainian universities.

The vast majority of applicants from the TOT are currently from the territories occupied by Russia after February 24, 2022. But there are almost no applicants from Ukrainian regions that have been under Russian control since 2014.

"This is due to the length of their stay in the temporary occupation under the influence of Russian propaganda, pressure and intimidation by the occupation authorities, assimilation processes, and the loss of civic and national identity among children and their parents," the report's authors explain.

What problems do applicants face?

Lubinets noted that the Ombudsman's Office had visited specialized educational centers. During communication with applicants, it turned out that they have doubts about choosing education in the territory controlled by Ukraine, as they have to overcome a difficult path through third countries. These include security risks and financial costs.

The Ukrainian Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights draws attention to another problem - the "limbo status" and lack of certainty in the educational future:

"Previously, from 34% to 56% of applicants from TOT were enrolled on a subsidized basis. For new entrants, there is virtually no guarantee of free admission. And this is the main issue our applicants face. Most of them hope to study for free."

The commissioner emphasizes that, meanwhile, Russia has implemented a whole system of notification of potential applicants from the occupied territories – they are offered state-funded education, employment, and even housing programs.

Children will have to choose between the conditions offered by Ukraine and Russia. This is despite the fact that just to travel to Ukraine, they have to go a long way. Therefore, there should be more arguments from Ukraine.Dmytro Lubinets, Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights

Almenda's report says that the interviewed applicants were motivated to move to the government-controlled territories, in particular, to preserve their identity and sense of belonging to the Ukrainian people and state. In addition, they saw life on the uncontrolled territory as less promising, and for some, the legitimacy of Ukrainian educational documents was important.

At the same time, they faced many problems: inaccessibility of some information, non-recognition of educational documents in the occupied territories, complicated registration procedures, difficulty leaving the TOT, and prejudice in the government-controlled area.

Lubinets noted that applicants from the TOT understandably have limited knowledge of subjects such as the Ukrainian language and the history of Ukraine. These subjects are now the basis for admission to educational institutions.

By the way, in Donetsk, since 2020, the occupation authorities have removed the Ukrainian language from the curriculum. Meanwhile, about 50% of Ukrainian educational institutions do not conduct preparatory courses for applicants from the TOT, said Lubinets, emphasizing one of the problems faced by applicants.

"Currently, the creation of educational centers Crimea-Ukraine and Donbas-Ukraine is not sufficient. They need to be constantly improved and developed in accordance with new challenges," the ombudsman stated.

The financial component is also important because it takes a lot of money to leave. Then there are questions about accommodation: Will there be enough space in student dormitories, and how to rent an apartment? If they do not manage to get into the state-funded program, they will also have to look for funds for all this.

So what should the state do?

The Office of the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner has provided recommendations for the Ministry of Education and Science – in particular, to create a separate structural unit in the Ministry of Education and Science, whose area of activity should be to provide education to children from the temporarily occupied territories. It is advised to involve children who once decided to come from the TOT to enter Ukrainian universities. Because only they have such a unique experience that can be scaled for others.

In addition, the number of state-funded places for children from the TOT should be dramatically increased, Lubinets suggests.

"It is clear that this is an additional burden on the state budget. But we can turn to our international partners. In my opinion, if we launch an information campaign that 100% of Ukrainian children who leave the TOT will have their studies funded by the state, this will be the main criterion that will influence the decision to leave the occupation," the commissioner explained.

He noted that it is equally important to solve the problem of lack of information and its dissemination in the occupied territory. This is hampered, among other things, by the fact that Russia is blocking Ukrainian websites.

We need to disseminate information. Relatives on the government-controlled territory communicate with those under occupation. When there is a massive information campaign for children from the TOT, it will lead to the fact that the information will reach them.Dmytro Lubinets, Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights

The Ombudsman's Office also recommends that the Ministry of Reintegration provide free education with scholarship support for preparatory courses lasting up to a year, with subsequent admission.

It also recommends introducing separate educational courses for the integration into Ukrainian society of young people who have lived under occupation for virtually their entire adult lives. It is also important to work with educators and schoolchildren to avoid cases of harassment of children from the TOT.  Lubinets noted that he had already been approached about bullying. There are not many such appeals yet, but there is a tendency for the number to increase, which requires a proactive approach.

Another recommendation is to support educational institutions that have moved to government-controlled areas. Children from TOT can enter such universities, which will be easier for them, as they will be identified as their own by the territorial principle and the experience of occupation, but also as Ukrainians in general.

The event was attended by the Minister for Reintegration, Iryna Vereshchuk. The official noted that they are currently formulating the budget for the next year, so she "sees the work she has to do." 

I understand that we lack coordination at the government level. The government needs to develop a reintegration program and find funding.Iryna Vereshchuk, Minister for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories

Well, recognizing the problem is the first step to solving it. It seems that this process has moved from a dead end and has reached the level of developing a full-fledged state policy. In conclusion, Ombudsman Lubinets added that a working group will be set up to work on this program. NGOs and government representatives are invited to join it.