Only 60% Ukrainian schools are connected to the Internet using optical fiber technologies, which allows students and teachers to receive the content necessary for the educational process and work effectively online.

This is stated in the message of the Ministry of Digital Transformation based on the results of the first detailed study of connecting schools to the fixed Internet in Ukraine.

The Ministry of Statistics notes that the purpose of the study was to determine which Ukrainian schools are connected to fiber optic lines and which are not.

Three sources of information were used in the study: official reporting of educational institutions, surveys of social infrastructure facilities, and results of tender procedures for 2019–2020.

"When determining the availability of fiber optic connection, we took into account not only the technology, but also the connection speed, which is inherent exclusively to fiber optic technologies. It had to be at least 30 Mbit/s. But if we are talking about the goals of the Ministry of Digital, then in order for students and teachers to receive the content necessary for the educational process and to work effectively online, at least 100 Mbit/s is needed. By the way, this corresponds to the Gigabit Society initiative of the European Union," the Ministry of Digital Transformation emphasizes.

The department also reports that some schools, which are located mostly in large cities, can afford to connect to high-speed Internet at the expense of the local budget. But there are thousands of schools across the country that need the state's help in this matter.

"During 2019-2020, tenders were held for connecting to the Internet and laying local networks in almost 10,000 Ukrainian schools. But, despite this, according to our research, the situation is still not very encouraging. There are a total of 16,317 schools in Ukraine. 9,773 (60%) are connected to the Internet using fiber-optic technologies, 6,544 (40%) are not,” the Ministry of Statistics noted.