Once the nurseries have been closed down, the Mykolaiv Municipal Property Management Department will decide what to do with the buildings, — Lychko

The fate of the buildings of the closed-down nurseries will be decided by the Municipal Property Department, screenshot from YouTube

Following the closure of three pre-school educational establishments, initiated by the Mykolaiv Education Department, the Municipal Property Department and the City Council will decide how to use them.

This was discussed during a meeting of the Mykolaiv City Council’s standing committee on housing, communal services and municipal property, which took place on 28 April, NikVesti reports.

As is known, the Mykolaiv Department of Education initiated the decision to close three nurseries: №104 (a nursery on Torhova Street in the Korabelnyi district), №128 (a nursery-kindergarten at the junction of Mariupolska and Pavlo Skoropadskyi Streets (formerly Admiral Makarov Street)) and №138 (a nursery-kindergarten on General Popel Street in Balabanivka). The official reason is the lack of and impossibility of installing shelters. This means that if the motion is passed at the session, there will no longer be such educational establishments in Mykolaiv, and their total number will decrease.

The sign has already been removed from the entrance to Nursery School No. 128 opposite McDonald’s, photo by NikVesti

Responding to questions from councillors during the discussion of this issue at the municipal property committee, the head of the Mykolaiv Education Department, Hanna Lychko, said that the buildings where these nurseries were located would, following their closure, be transferred to the municipal property department, which would then decide how to use them.

«The property remains under the jurisdiction of the Department of Education for the time being. And going forward, the Department of Municipal Property, as the lead body… will determine what happens with this municipal property. As for the buildings, they are currently under the jurisdiction of the Department of Education; they will remain with us for now. And going forward, decisions will be made by the Department of Municipal Property in conjunction with the councillors,» said Hanna Lychko.

During the discussion, councillor Olena Shaposhnikova expressed the view that these educational institutions should not be closed down, as it would be very difficult to reopen them later.

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«So, you don’t see any prospects for the children there in the future? Are we not even forecasting an increase in the birth rate? It’s that sort of area; perhaps we should simply support it, rather than destroy it. It’s very easy to destroy, but restoring it will require a great deal of funds later on,» said the councillor.

In response, the committee chair, Dmytro Ivanov, said: «There is no point in using all the nurseries; there is no shelter, and no one will take their children there».

In the end, 5 out of 6 committee members supported the decision to close the nurseries. One councillor abstained.

It was previously reported that the chair of the education committee, Hanna Nord, told the committee that it was the institutions themselves that were being proposed for closure, whilst the buildings would remain with the city.

Councillor Olena Kiseliova supported the closure of the kindergartens, stating that it was not cost-effective for the city to maintain them.