Funding has been reallocated for obstacle courses and educational equipment at two lyceums in Mykolaiv
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- Alona KokhanchukReporter
One of the shelters in Mykolaiv’s schools. Photo for illustrative purposes from the archive of NikVestiThe Executive Committee of Mykolaiv City Council has approved the reallocation of budget expenditure to purchase equipment for an obstacle course at Lyceum №38 and to create a modern educational space at Lyceum №55.
The relevant decisions were adopted at the Executive Committee meeting on 14 October, according to NikVesti.
As explained by Hanna Lychko, Head of the Education Department, 215,000 hryvnias are to be allocated to setting up an obstacle course for the «Defence of Ukraine» teaching centre at Lyceum №38, the «Municipal Collegium» named after Volodymyr Chaika.
The funds were reallocated from the budget for pupils’ meals. The draft decision attributes this to a reduction in pupil numbers at the start of the academic year and the transition of some of them to blended learning.
In a separate decision, the Executive Committee approved changes to the funding for the purchase of equipment to create a modern educational space at Lyceum №55 as part of the «New Ukrainian School» reform.
Specifically, this involves 138,000 hryvnias from the local budget and 1,242,000 hryvnias from the education subvention. The documents state that, following the receipt of quotations, the projected cost of the equipment for the lyceum has decreased.
This reallocation does not entail an increase in the total budgetary allocations for the relevant areas.
It should be recalled that during an inspection of Gymnasium №24 in Mykolaiv, it was found that there was insufficient ventilation when the building was at full capacity with pupils. Previously, parents had complained that during air raid alerts, the premises became stuffy and the children felt unwell.
What parents and the education authority had previously said
It should be recalled that on 23 September, NikVesti reported on complaints from parents of pupils at Gymnasium №24 regarding conditions in the shelter. They said that during air raid alerts, the room felt stuffy, the children felt unwell and suffered from headaches. One mother compared the conditions in the shelter to a «sauna effect».
At the start of the school year, 413 pupils and staff members went down to the shelter at the same time during an air-raid alert.
At the time, the head of the education department, Hanna Lychko, confirmed in a comment to NikVesti that there was ventilation in the shelter, but attributed the problem to the high temperature of the air coming in from outside.
The Department of Education also recommended reducing the number of children in the shelter at any one time. Following this, the school switched to a two-shift system.
The school’s headteacher, Tamara Zherebtsova, said at the time that the ventilation system had already been inspected. According to her, experts recommended raising the ventilation pipe that leads outside to improve air circulation.
As a reminder, on 6 October, the head of the Education Department, Hanna Lychko, reported that a total of 97 shelters are in use across educational establishments in Mykolaiv. She said that a full inspection of the ventilation systems had already been carried out in 86 of them, whilst in four, inspections had revealed shortcomings which, according to the official, had already been rectified. The first round of maintenance on the ventilation systems is scheduled to be fully completed by 20 October.
