At the Pervomaisk Lyceum, the head of the education department called the police because of damaged sockets

The ‘Leader’ Lyceum in Pervomaisk. Photo: Volodymyr Galuzinsky

At the «Leader» Lyceum in Pervomaisk, sockets in the physics classroom were damaged. Svitlana Tkachuk, head of the Education Department, described this as vandalism and contacted the police so that the authorities could establish the circumstances of the incident.

She reported this on the Facebook page of the Pervomaisk City Council’s Department of Education.

According to Svitlana Tkachuk, in the physics classroom, the sockets had been partially torn from the walls and were hanging by their wires. Plaster had crumbled around them, and cracks had appeared in the walls.

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«Today, an extraordinary incident — one might even call it a barbaric act — took place at one of our educational establishments. It has come to light that the sockets in the physics classroom at the «Leader» Lyceum have been vandalised. Having verified the information, I personally called the police by dialling 102, went to the school and met the police there. They inspected the scene and documented the damaged sockets, which were simply hanging by their wires. The plaster has crumbled away and there are visible cracks,» said Svitlana Tkachuk.

According to her, staff at the school assured her that no unauthorised persons had entered the classroom. At the same time, CCTV cameras are in operation both in the room and throughout the school.

The head of the education department noted that, together with the police, they had reviewed the footage and identified the people who had entered the classroom.

«Together with the police, we reviewed the CCTV footage, which captured the people who entered this classroom. We hope that the police will open a criminal investigation, look into the matter and ensure that those responsible are punished. Because this act of vandalism has been inflicted on the school, and indeed on our community as a whole,» concluded Svitlana Tkachuk.

What is known about the sockets in the classroom

Problems with the physics classroom at the ‘Leader’ Lyceum arose even after the completion of the refurbishment, on which around 400,000 hryvnias from the Pervomaiska community budget had been spent. Parents of pupils complained about power cuts and problems with the sockets.

Following the complaints, a special commission inspected the work carried out. As reported by city councillor Yevhen Notevskyi, the inspection revealed a number of discrepancies between the work carried out and the documentation. In particular, these included the absence of the 13.8 cubic metres of expanded clay specified in the project for floor insulation, discrepancies in the number of sockets and circuit breakers, the use of a different type of cable, and the lack of earthing in the sockets installed directly in the pupils’ desks.

During the last session of the city council, Svitlana Tkachuk replied that some of the councillor’s complaints concerned issues that were not covered by the scope of the contract. At the same time, she noted that the Department of Education had already contacted the contractor regarding the identified shortcomings.

Svitlana Tkachuk also reported that some of the defects, which the contractor had acknowledged, had already been rectified at the contractor’s own expense. Regarding other issues where the contractor did not agree with the commission’s findings, the Department of Education has referred the matter to the police.

«A criminal investigation has now been opened. Once the results are in, I will personally report to you at the session on everything relating to this classroom and this procurement,» said Svitlana Tkachuk.

Svitlana Tkachuk, Head of the Education Department of the Pervomaisk City Council. Screenshot from the broadcast

In addition, councillor Yevhen Notevskyi pointed out that the discrepancies were only discovered several months after the renovation was completed, even though the certificates of completion had already been signed. The final results of the inspection and investigation into the classroom renovation had not been made public at that time.

As a reminder, due to the increase in attacks by rocket-propelled drones, schools in Mykolaiv may change the organisation of the teaching process. In particular, pupils may study in two shifts in shelters, and lessons in schools may begin at 7.30 am.