The Mykolaiv Education Department is drawing up proposals on what to do with 28 kindergartens lacking shelter

Nursery school. Illustrative photo from the NikVesti archive

In Mykolaiv, 28 pre-school establishments lack their own shelters. The City Council’s Education Department is preparing proposals regarding the future operation of these nurseries, which it plans to present at a later date.

This was reported by Hanna Lychko, head of the Mykolaiv City Council’s Education Department, during a session on 30 April, according to NikVesti.

The issue arose during a discussion of a proposal to close three kindergartens. City councillor Yurii Stepanets asked what the future holds for other institutions that do not have shelters.

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In response, Hanna Lychko clarified that currently 28 nurseries in the city do not have shelters, but the department is already working on options for the future network of pre-school institutions. According to her, the experience of other cities is being taken into account when developing approaches:

«We will put forward specific proposals within the remit of the Education Department regarding the network of the remaining pre-school institutions. We have studied the experience of Poltava, where they have even begun to merge existing nurseries in order to reduce administrative staff costs. We have certain proposals, and we will discuss them with you (the councillors, — note),» she noted.

Hanna Lychko also emphasised that nurseries in Mykolaiv do not have proper shelters in the traditional sense. After the full-scale war began, the institutions were forced to adapt to civil defence requirements and use the simplest forms of shelter.

«Our pre-school education establishments have never had proper shelters, the sort we have in several schools in Mykolaiv. When the war began, we started studying Ukraine’s Civil Defence Code to see what kind of shelters might be suitable for us. It states that during a state of emergency, the simplest shelters may be used. The simplest shelters are usually located in basements, and at that time, we did what we could as quickly as possible to return to face-to-face learning. We would definitely like to have new, proper anti-radiation shelters,» she added.

It should be noted that following discussions, members of the Mykolaiv City Council voted to close just one nursery school — №138 on Oleh Kravets Street in Balabanivka. The vote on the other two — №104 and №128 — failed to secure the necessary majority.

Why does Mykolaiv want to close three nurseries?

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 Oleh Kravets 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, such educational establishments will no longer exist in Mykolaiv, and their total number will decrease.

During the committee meeting, the chair of the education committee, Hanna Nord, stated that it is the institutions themselves that are being proposed for closure, whilst the buildings will remain the property of the city.

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

What do city councillors think about the closure?

Councillor Olena Kiseliova supported the rationale behind closing the preschools, stating that it is not cost-effective for the city to maintain them. She says that there is a broader issue behind the closure than the fact that they lack shelters and it is impossible to build them there. During the war, the institutions have been idle, but all this time it has been necessary to maintain the buildings and staff.

Councillor Artem Ilyuk stated that he could support the legal closure of the three kindergartens, but said he would not support the subsequent privatisation of these buildings.

Tamila Buhaenko, former deputy mayor of Mykolaiv, also commented on the Education Department’s proposal to close the three nurseries. She believes this could lead to a shortage of places in pre-school facilities once the war ends.

Yurii Hranaturov, Mayor of Mykolaiv from 2014 to 2016, stated that the issue of kindergartens is critically important for the city, especially given the changing demographics and the renewed demand for pre-school education. According to him, the situation with kindergartens in Mykolaiv has already gone through various phases on numerous occasions — from a surplus to a shortage of places.

Hanna Remennikova, a member of the Mykolaiv City Council, believes that if some kindergartens are closed down and subsequently privatised, the funds generated should be directed towards modernising existing facilities.

Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych said that there is currently no talk of privatising kindergartens.