«The time has been lost for them». When will the students of the Mykolaiv gymnasium return to the desks of the rebuilt building?

Reconstruction of the Mykolaiv gymnasium, March 2025, photo by «NikVesti»

For the second year in a row, the reconstruction of the Mykolaiv gymnasium (lyceum), one of the oldest educational institutions in the city, has been underway. The enemy shelled the lyceum four times, resulting in the destruction of 10% of its building. It was decided to restore the institution at the expense of the state budget: to repair the roof, carry out interior work, restore the facade, and build a second shelter.

NikVesti found out at what stage the reconstruction of the lyceum is now, when students will be able to return to their desks, and what teachers and parents of the school's students think about the resumption of education.

Education in the middle of reconstruction. The lyceum now has a mixed learning format

The lyceum is now staffed by equipment and specialists from the contractor , «Zhytloprombud-8», which won the tender for the reconstruction of the school.

Nevertheless, the lyceum has already resumed offline learning. The students returned to their desks on 1 September 2024, the Mykolaiv City Council's Education Department told NikVesti. So while the contractor is rebuilding the main building, students are studying in the primary school building. During air raid alerts, students are brought down to the equipped shelter, and in case of a «mining» alert , children are evacuated, picked up by their parents within an hour, and then continue their studies online, the lyceum's director, Volodymyr Fedorenko, told us.

The current shelter of the Mykolaiv gymnasium, photo by NikVesti

Parents have been waiting for the resumption of full-time education, says Mariia, whose two sons study at the lyceum: Dmytro is in the 10th grade, and Kostiantyn is in the 5th grade.

«They go to school and we are happy that they do,» says Mariia.

However, she adds, at first the children were afraid to go to school, because after two years of online learning, they needed to socialise again.

«The children were afraid. Because in three years, all their social connections have been completely destroyed. They don't know what conflict situations are. It all just started for them this year.

I thought they would come and tell me that the school was bombed, there was a mess, construction, everything was falling down. But on 1 September, my eldest came and said «Mum, I didn't even think it would be so cool», the woman said.

The process of rebuilding a Mykolaiv gymnasium, March 2025, photo by NikVesti

Reconstruction of a Mykolaiv gymnasium, March 2025, photo by NikVesti

Before the start of the school year, teachers also talked to parents about the security situation and the lyceum's readiness for possible shelling of the city, Yuliia Nesteriuk, a first-grade class teacher and primary school teacher, told the editorial board.

«This is what the profession of a teacher is all about — to establish contact with every mother and father who is concerned about their child. My task was to convey that I was there for my children at the cost of my own life. First the children, then me.

The whole school knows that the first class goes first. They are like goslings running to the shelter, sitting in their seats and we continue to work. There we write some test papers and develop creatively: it's work with plasticine and some kind of art therapy,» says Yuliia Nesteriuk.

The process of rebuilding a Mykolaiv gymnasium, March 2025, photo by NikVesti

Reconstruction of the Mykolaiv gymnasium, March 2025, photo by NikVesti

The process of reconstruction of the Mykolaiv gymnasium, March 2025, photo by NikVesti

Children have now adapted to the air raid alerts and the threat of «mining» of the school, as it is the teachers who give them a sense of safety and security.

«My task was to make sure that children were not frightened by the sound of the air raid alarm and felt safe when the school was announced to be mined. But children are smart and clever. They are already used to it, it's everyday life for them. They know that my eyes will show them the right way and give them any hint. Now the corridors are buzzing with the laughter of students. We have started living again,» said Yuliia Nesteriuk.

However, some of the lyceum's students continue to study online. «Everything happens at the request of the parents», says the director of the school Volodymyr Fedorenko.

Volodymyr Fedorenko, headmaster of the school, photo by NikVesti

But most of the children who are studying remotely simply do not have the physical ability to be in Mykolaiv, adds Ukrainian language and literature teacher Tetiana Shkabura.

Liudmyla's two sons are currently studying remotely. Dmytro, the eldest, is in the 8th grade, and Danylo, the youngest, is in the 4th grade. Despite the shelter already in place at the lyceum, the woman is afraid to let her children go to school full-time because of the threat of shelling. Even after the school is restored and a second shelter is built, she hopes her sons will be able to continue their education online.

«They see each other through the screen now. It's not about school life at all. But personally, my unpopular opinion is: what if it hits again? And even if it doesn't, and they are invited to their desks on 1 September, I am very scared to let my children go when the war is on, because we won't always be able to react on alarms and so on,» Liudmyla explained to the editorial.

The process of rebuilding a Mykolaiv gymnasium, March 2025, photo by NikVesti

The process of rebuilding a Mykolaiv gymnasium, March 2025, photo by NikVesti

However, the woman says that distance learning affects the socialisation of students, as lessons and any communication with classmates takes place online.

«My eldest son has been studying for three years, sitting on his chair within four walls. And they are almost all withdrawn, despite all our efforts to communicate.The time has been lost for them. My son has actually just finished primary school, and now he is a teenager. He is already thinking about where to go to university.

There were many hopes because the older one had a very strong class. They had the kind of school life you can only dream of: projects, quizzes, olympiads, sporting events, concerts, hikes. And when this was gone, of course, it became difficult,» Liudmyla said.

The process of rebuilding the Mykolaiv gymnasium, March 2025, photo by NikVesti

In terms of numbers, about 35% of the lyceum's students have returned to full-time education, while the rest continue to study online.

At the same time, since the beginning of the full-scale war, the number of students in the lyceum has decreased from 1127 to 752. This figure is not significant. In general, the outflow of students is observed in many educational institutions in Mykolaiv. Over the past three years, the total number of students in city schools has decreased from 46304 to 36743, the Mykolaiv City Council's Education Department told NikVesti.

Contractor has completed more than half of the work

As of today, the contractor has completed 67% of the reconstruction of the lyceum, the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration told NikVesti.

«All work is being carried out in parallel», the contractor says. In total, about fifty specialists are currently working at the site, all of whom work up to 10 hours a day.

«Before the work started, everything was extremely sad here, because the building is more than 100 years old. Yes, some work had been done there, but everything has to be done all over again. There is no part of the building where we are not currently working,» says Roman, a representative of the contractor.

Dismantling work has already been completed there, according to the RMA: dismantling of coatings, doors, windows, utilities, metal gates, dismantling of the basement entrance, extension, foundation, stairs, porch, walls and partitions, floors, ceilings, structures of the first and second floors, and roof.

The process of reconstruction of the Mykolaiv gymnasium, March 2025, photo by NikVesti

The process of rebuilding the Mykolaiv gymnasium, March 2025, photo by NikVesti

The contractor also carried out excavation work, made foundations for the lift equipment, partially restored the facade, arranged the roof, installed window units, partially completed general construction and interior finishing work, and laid engineering networks: water supply, sewerage, ventilation, heating, and fire alarms.

Work is underway on the façade of the historic building, which involves several stages: mechanical cleaning of the coating, water and air cleaning, application of various types of primer, stone replacement, pothole repair, special paint, and reconstruction of architectural details.

The process of rebuilding the Mykolaiv gymnasium, March 2025, photo by NikVesti

According to the estimate, the reconstruction of the destroyed lyceum building will require 216.7 million hryvnias, the Department of Urban Development, Architecture, Capital Construction and Support of Development Projects of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration reported earlier to NikVesti.

In 2024, the government allocated 149.5 million hryvnias of state budget funds for this purpose, but after the tender, the amount dropped to 145.5 million hryvnias. The contractor received 95.4 million hryvnias of this amount in 2023/24, and another 50.1 million hryvnias is planned to be spent in 2025.

However, as of today, there is no further funding for the work, the RMA clarified. They also noted that the total amount of reconstruction may change, as it is planned to adjust the project to rebuild the lyceum.

When will the lyceum students return to their desks?

Students, their parents and teachers expect the lyceum to be rebuilt by 1 September 2025.

«We are promised that in September we will be able to move into the new building. We can't wait for that. Of course, it's hard, because they are all in small classes there now,» said Mariia, whose two sons are full-time students at the lyceum.

«We are looking forward to 1 September, as we have been promised that we will enter our already renovated facility, where we will be able to work fully with all the children,» said Ukrainian language and literature teacher Tetiana Shkabura.

Reconstruction of a Mykolaiv gymnasium, March 2025, photo by NikVesti

Reconstruction of a Mykolaiv gymnasium, March 2025, photo by NikVesti

Reconstruction of the Mykolaiv gymnasium, March 2025, photo by NikVesti

The gymnasium hopes to be able to recruit several first-year students by the start of the next school year. This will be easier if the construction work can be completed by September, says first-grade class teacher Yuliia Nesteriuk.

«We hope that more children will join us for the 2025/26 academic year, because many have already returned and see how quickly our school is being renovated. If the reconstruction of the institution is really completed by 1 September, we will have many times more children. It could be two or even three first grades. Enrolment is ongoing, and we are calling, advertising, repeating, saying that we are working, that everything will be fine,» she said.

As soon as the construction work is completed and the institution is fully operational, the lyceum will return to full-time education, says director Volodymyr Fedorenko.

However, it is unknown whether all the work will be completed by September. According to an additional agreement signed between the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration's Department of Architecture and the contractor on 24 August 2025, the reconstruction of the school will last until December 2025 inclusive.

The reconstruction process of the Mykolaiv gymnasium, March 2025, photo by NikVesti

Despite the expectations of students, parents, and teachers, the full reopening of the Mykolaiv lyceum by 1 September 2025 remains in doubt. Official documents show that the reconstruction will last at least until the end of the year. However, the school is already taking its first, quite successful steps towards returning to normal school life.

Yuliia Boichenko, NikVesti