About 400,000 children have left Ukraine but remain in the education system

Approximately 400,000 children have left Ukraine but remain part of the national education system, a number that is gradually decreasing.

This was reported by Ukraine’s Minister of Education, Oksen Lisovyi, while addressing Parliament.

“We understand that this decrease has both positive and natural reasons – some children are returning to Ukraine, and others are leaving the system due to graduating from the 11th grade. However, there is also a negative aspect – some children are leaving the Ukrainian education system entirely and transitioning to local education systems abroad, losing contact with us,” said Lisovyi.

It is worth noting that just this year, 300,000 schoolchildren left Ukraine before the start of the academic year.

A particularly high number of boys are leaving, trying to exit the country before turning 18, as men are prohibited from leaving Ukraine after that age.

Earlier, it was reported that Western partners are insisting that Ukraine lower the conscription age. This was announced today by Maria Ionova, a member of the “European Solidarity” party in Parliament.

“Regarding mobilization, our partners are urging us to lower the conscription age,” she said.

Her statement was confirmed by the Office of the President. As noted by Serhiy Leshchenko, an adviser to the President’s Office, on his Telegram channel, Washington is pressuring President Volodymyr Zelensky to lower the conscription age to 18, with American politicians from both parties calling for this change.