UNICEF and Ministry of National Education sign 2025 work plan to support the education of refugee children from Ukraine

Warsaw, Poland, 23 January 2025 – Today, UNICEF and the Ministry of National Education committed to continue their joint efforts to ensure equal access to inclusive and quality learning for refugee children and adolescents in Poland. Building on their strategic collaboration since 2022, a new workplan outlining key initiatives for 2025 was signed.

Nearly three years after the escalation of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, over 253,000 Ukrainian children are attending schools in Poland, including 186,000 students who arrived after February 24, 2022. Recognizing the importance of education as a right for every child, UNICEF and the Ministry of National Education will continue their partnership to strengthen the education system and meet the ongoing educational needs of refugee children and youth. The cooperation prioritizes enrollment of refugee children into formal schooling, Polish language acquisition, and teacher professional development, as well as specific interventions for adolescents and youth including skills development, and empowerment programmes.

Ensuring access to education for refugee children has been a shared priority of the Ministry of National Education and UNICEF since June 2022. In 2024, in close partnership with national and local governments and civil society organizations, UNICEF supported 235,000 children to access formal and non-formal education opportunities, including early learning, catch-up classes, mental health and psychosocial support services, language classes, and multicultural assistance. The Back to Learning campaign, launched in August 2024 in collaboration with civil society organizations and in partnership with the Ministry of Education, aims to encourage children and adolescents from Ukraine to enroll in Polish schools and has reached over 2 million people to date.

In 2025, the partnership between UNICEF and the Ministry of National Education will focus on:

• Supporting the enrollment and retention of refugee children in Polish schools through initiatives such as the Accessible School for All project and the Back to Learning campaign.
• Polish language acquisition programmes, t help children from diverse linguistic backgrounds integrate into the education system and society
• Expanding early childhood development and care programmes, including parental support and early detection of learning difficulties, to provide young children with a strong foundation for lifelong learning and development.
• Strengthening digital transformation in education to enhance the accessibility and quality of education by integrating technology.
• Promoting skills-building and empowerment opportunities for adolescents and youth to prepare young people for the future.
• Enhancing teacher professional development to foster inclusive classrooms and provide a supportive learning environment for all students.