The number of Ukrainian pupils in the Irish school system has increased to 18,268 as of this week.
According to new figures from the Department of Education, the 18,268 represents an increase of 113 since February of this year.
Of the total figure, 11,348 of these pupils are in Irish primary schools, while 6,920 pupils are enrolled in post-primary schools.
The data indicates an enrolment rate of 94.4% among Ukrainian children aged 5-18.
“The department wishes to thank school communities and stakeholders at a local and national level across Ireland for their engagement, collaboration and support in accommodating Ukrainian pupils in Irish primary and post-primary schools,” the Department said in a statement.
“To assist with the transition of Ukrainian students and their families into Irish schools, Regional Education and Language Teams (REALT) continue to operate.
“These are hosted by the 16 regional education and training boards around Ireland and staffed by regionally-based education support personnel.
“These teams continue to make sure that clear, accessible information flows are in place between schools, local education support services and national support structures in relation to people arriving from Ukraine.”
The news comes as this week Gript’s Matt Treacy reported that the number of Ukrainians seeking refuge in Europe seems to be increased based on EU data.
MATT TREACY looks into EU data and finds the number of Ukrainians seeking refuge seems to be increasing – and that the ratio per population for Ireland is twice as high at 19.63 per 1000 as the EU average. https://t.co/qRYgJ22UKp
— gript (@griptmedia) April 11, 2024
Ireland continues to have one of the highest ratios of Ukrainians relative to population size. The EU average stood at 9.44 per 1000 of population in February of this year, while ratio for Ireland was significantly higher at 19.63 per 1000.
Ireland had the 8th highest ratio of Ukrainians under Temporary Protection of all 27 EU member states, while only countries adjacent to Ukraine, such as Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Czech Republic and Slovakia, along with Cyprus, had taken in a higher proportion.