Staff cuts are planned at 29 nurseries in Mykolaiv that are closed during the war

A nursery in Mykolaiv. Photo by ‘NikVesti’

There are proposals to streamline the staffing levels of kindergartens in Mykolaiv that are not operating during the war. In reality, they will not reopen in the near future, as they lack basements and, consequently, shelters. This concerns 29 pre-school education establishments.

This was discussed during a meeting of the standing committee on health and social protection on 25 March, reports NikVesti.

Anna Lychko, Head of the Education Department at Mykolaiv City Council, said that there are 41 kindergartens operating in the city and plans are in place to open a further two following renovation.

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However, there are also pre-school education establishments (PSEs) that have been closed during the war. Therefore, a draft resolution was submitted to the committee for consideration, under which nursery managers are required to adjust their staffing levels. They refer to the standards approved by the Ministry of Education: in kindergartens, there are posts established in accordance with the number of children, the number of groups and their occupancy rates, apart from the post of facilities manager. Since there were no children there, these posts must be reorganised, and staff must be informed of the redundancies.

«In the staffing table, the post of deputy director for administrative affairs, where present, is to be replaced by the post of facilities manager,» Hanna Lychko also read out from the draft decision.

She added that there are currently enough nurseries in Mykolaiv to accommodate the number of children. However, some of the nurseries cannot be put into operation because they lack basements.

«Furthermore, it should be noted that 20% of the pre-school education facilities currently under discussion, as well as the pre-school department of Primary School №1, do not have basement facilities. Therefore, it is impossible to resume teaching there in the near future. Consequently, staff are currently on furlough. This also entails corresponding expenditure from the local budget. And again, 28 pre-school education establishments and one structural unit in terms of staffing levels is no small number. Furthermore, the pay rise agreed from 1 January has also increased the amount we are paying out for staff being on standby,» added Hanna Lychko.

The committee members supported the draft decision, which is now to be considered at a city council session.

As a reminder, the executive committee has determined how the on-duty nurseries in Mykolaiv will operate this summer. The nurseries will be open from 1 July to 20 August.

By 15 April, the city council’s education department must determine which specific nurseries will serve as on-duty facilities.