Butenko: Over 44% of textbooks destroyed by Russia already replaced, publishers reprinting them at own expense
Minister of Education and Science Andriy Butenko says, as of today, more than 44% of the textbooks destroyed by Russia have already been replaced, but publishers are currently reprinting them at their own expense.
"In late July and early August, several shipments of our textbooks were destroyed while in transit or in the manufacturers' warehouses. In total, we lost just over 10% of the total print run of textbooks planned for this year," Butenko said Wednesday at a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Education, Science, and Innovation.
He said that previously, 90% of the textbooks were scheduled to be delivered by September 1, with the remainder to be delivered by October 1.
According to him, 88.6% of the textbooks originally scheduled for delivery by September have now been delivered.
"I am hopeful that in the coming days, we will have all 90% in the hands of the end users," the minister said.
As for the textbooks that were scheduled to be delivered by October, only 7% have been delivered so far.
Butenko said the Ministry of Education is currently working with international partners to compensate publishers for the costs of reprinting copies lost due to Russian attacks.
"Legally, we are currently unable to pay a second time from the state budget, since these textbooks have already been paid for. Legally, there are safeguards in place under the law regarding duplicate payments," he added.
The minister said agreements are currently in place with UNICEF for approximately $300,000 to cover these costs, and work is underway to cover the remaining losses.
"As for the reprinting and replacement of destroyed textbooks, as of today, more than 44% of the textbooks that were destroyed have already been replaced," Butenko stated, adding that publishers are currently reprinting the textbooks at their own expense.
As previously reported, on the night of July 19, a Russian attack destroyed the Konvi Group's printing plant, destroying nearly 250,000 textbooks and 350,000 blanks for publishing materials.
On August 1, Russian shelling of Kharkiv damaged the warehouses of the Ranok publishing house. Textbooks were destroyed in the fire.