If there's an alarm in the morning — don't go to school: the Ministry of Education and Science has approved new recommendations for learning

If an air raid alert is in effect at the start of the school day, students and school staff should not travel to the educational institution. In that case, instruction begins remotely according to a pre-prepared schedule. This procedure is contained in the new methodological recommendations of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, sent by letter dated September 11 2026 No. 1/19575. The document concerns the organization of learning in general secondary education institutions under martial law. The Ministry (MES) recommends that schools develop their own operating procedure in advance depending on the security situation. It should provide for the possibility of switching between in-person, blended and remote formats, as well as procedures for informing students and parents.

What to do if the alert is active in the morning

The Ministry’s recommendations outline the following procedure:

• students and staff do not travel to school while the air raid alert continues;
• before the first lesson begins the school must notify about the remote start of the school day;
• teachers conduct remote lessons from a safe location;
• if necessary, the synchronous part of the lesson can be shortened and some material moved to an asynchronous format;
• students who, due to security circumstances, cannot join the online lesson should be left access to materials and assignments.

At the same time, an air raid alert during remote learning does not mean the automatic suspension of lessons. First and foremost, students and teachers must move to a safe place. After that, if there is technical capability, the synchronous lesson may continue. For those who cannot connect from the shelter, the school must provide asynchronous learning.

What is “control time”

Each school can set in advance a control time by which a return to in-person instruction is still possible that day. The Ministry’s methodological recommendations give an example of 10:00, however this is not the only mandatory time for all schools – the specific hour is determined by the institution itself according to its own conditions.

For example, if a school sets the control time at 10:00:

• if the all-clear is announced before 10:00, the administration notifies about the return to the in-person format;
• after the all-clear, students and staff are given time to travel safely to the school;
• in the Ministry’s example this transition period is 60 minutes;
• after arrival, lessons continue according to a adjusted schedule;
• if the all-clear is announced after 10:00, there is no return to in-person format that day – instruction continues remotely.

If, after the children return to school, the air raid alert is announced again, all participants in the educational process must move to shelters, and further instruction will be organized according to the model the school has predefined.

What else the Ministry recommends

Schools should predefine the primary and backup channels of communication with parents and students. A notice about a change in the learning format should contain information about when the new regime takes effect, for which classes, according to which schedule, and when to expect the next message.

The Ministry also recommends paying attention to the duration of alerts. If, over several consecutive days they cumulatively take more than two hours of the school day, the school is advised to promptly switch to pre-prepared in-shelter instruction or a remote format.

The ministry emphasizes that the main criterion for any decision remains the safety of children and staff and the continuity of learning.