According to preliminary estimates, more than 410,000 school textbooks were destroyed as a result of the Russian strike on July 19, and they need to be reprinted, Minister of Education and Science Andriy Butenko has said.
"We conducted a preliminary assessment of losses from the Russian strike on July 19: more than 410,000 school textbooks were destroyed. Some of these textbooks had already been printed, packaged, and prepared for shipment. They were supposed to arrive at educational institutions so that students would receive them by September 1," he wrote on Facebook.
According to Butenko, the Ministry of Education, together with publishers and the Institute of Educational Content Modernization, conducted a preliminary assessment of losses. According to preliminary data: more than 260,000 printed textbooks for the 9th grade were destroyed; textbooks for the 4th grade also came under the strike – approximately 150,000 copies that were in work at the publisher.
"The print run will have to be reprinted, and delivery to educational institutions tentatively postponed for at least a few months. We are already in touch with publishers and coordinating how to make up for lost time: we are agreeing on a reprint. While new textbooks are being printed, where necessary, electronic versions can be used for learning. Children will sit at their desks on time – learning will not stop," the minister noted.
Meanwhile, according to him, the planned delivery of textbooks continues.
"The lost print run is only part of a large order for the new academic year, and the rest of the books are being delivered on schedule. As of July 22, schools have already received more than 1.4 million copies," he added.
As reported, on the night of July 19, as a result of a Russian attack, the warehouse of the Knigolav publishing house was destroyed, and 250,000 books were lost. The MISON publishing house was also destroyed and the office of the Ark.UA publishing house in Kyiv was damaged. In addition, the printing house of the Convi group was destroyed, along with nearly 250,000 textbooks and 350,000 blanks for publishing products.
