Schools on Russian-occupied territories left in chaos
Integration of TOT failed for Russians (Photo: Photo by Jena Backus/pexels)
The State Duma has approved in first reading a bill extending the so-called “transition period” for education on temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk until Jan. 1, 2028, the Center for National Resistance (NRC) reported on Nov. 2.
The Russian occupation authorities justify the move as necessary to “complete integration” into the Russian educational space and to “raise pay levels and material resources.”
But, the NRC said, the real reason was that integration has failed. Russia has not been able to build a stable education system there even by its own standards.
“Extending the ‘transition period’ in practice legalizes the degradation: instead of integration — chaos; instead of education — propaganda; instead of development — an attempt to hide the failure,” the Center highlighted.
According to the NRC, schools face an acute teacher shortage because most local educators refused to work under Russian curricula. Those who remained are being “retrained” through Russian online platforms — but the certificates they receive carry no legal force, even inside Russia itself.
Parts of the teaching load are covered by “young specialists” brought in from Russian oblasts with promises of extra pay and housing. However, the NRC reported that most of these recruits leave the occupied territories after just a few months, disrupting the school year.
Occupation administrators are also importing new batches of “teachers” with their families from Russia’s "hinterland" and housing them in abandoned accommodation. Moscow is thereby trying to change the demographic balance and impose a pro-Russian agenda through education, pushing out Ukrainian identity.
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