The Minister of Education is satisfied with the preparation of schools in the Mykolaiv Oblast for full-time education

Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Oksen Lisovyi in Mykolaiv. Photo: NikVesti

The Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, Oksen Lisovyi, stated that the state of secondary education institutions in the Mykolaiv region is satisfactory and they are ready to accept schoolchildren for full-time studies.

He said this during a briefing on August 1, NikVesti writes.

As you know, Oksen Lisovyi came to Mykolaiv on an official visit on August 1. During it, the minister visited various districts of Mykolaiv Oblast, met with local authorities and inspected shelters in educational institutions.

«We drove around the districts and visited the schools here. See all the components needed to start the school year in Mykolaiv. Everything is carried out efficiently, very quickly assimilated. Today, the readiness of the schools of the Mykolaiv Oblast is quite high, they are ready for the academic year, they do not have any problems that would tell me, as a minister, about the lack of understanding of what needs to be done. And the issue of energy is raised here well, and the issue of school repairs. We spoke with the representatives of the communities, they provide everything necessary for the children who go to full-time education to get an education in a clean room, even in old schools,» he said.

The minister also inspected the shelters, which were repaired with funds from the state budget.

«All built, beautiful shelters. Now the new subvention, which was additionally allocated this year, is 2.5 billion, tenders have already been held, contracts are being concluded, construction will begin. Let's hope that it will be completed by the end of the year, that's why the progress in the Mykolaiv region is very dynamic,» added Oksen Lisovyi.

It is generally difficult to cover the need for shelters for local self-government bodies and the state, he noted. However, the minister believes that rooms where children can stay during an air raid «must definitely appear in every school.»

At the same time, Oksen Lisovyi reported that in Mykolaiv Oblast, compared to other regions, the procurement of buses within the framework of state subvention took place the fastest.

«The second batch of buses has already gone to the communities, so everything is going well here. Everyone has problems, for example, the staffing of teachers, the shortage of teachers,» said Oksen Lisovyi.

We will remind you how Oksen Lisovyi said that Ukrainian teachers should not expect a salary increase until the end of a full-scale war. He explained this by the difficult situation in the budget. He also noted that the long-term online education did not pass without a trace for Ukrainian schoolchildren. Today, students lag behind educational programs by 1.5-2.5 years.

During the briefing, the minister also stated that the Ministry of Education and Culture will analyze the dynamics of admission of conscripts to Mykolaiv universities.

What about children's education in Mykolaiv?

Mykolaiv schoolchildren have been studying online since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation. Although the government, with the help of donors and the state, is actively setting up shelters in educational institutions, which sometimes causes indignation among the townspeople.

The refusal of children to go to school is a guarantee of their personal safety, because Mykolaiv is still in the zone of possible ballistic damage from the Russian military, says Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych. At the same time, he emphasizes the importance of preparing shelters and resuming education in schools when the Armed Forces move the front line.

Currently, shelters have been installed in 37 educational institutions out of 142 schools and kindergartens in Mykolaiv. At the end of December 2023, the commission recommended the opening of seven more educational institutions with shelters.

In the next few years, the authorities plan to equip 54 shelters in kindergartens, schools and lyceums in Mykolaiv.

We will remind you that the outflow of students was recorded in the schools of Mykolaiv this year. Compared to the last academic year , the number of schoolchildren decreased by 3,300. Vitalii Kim, the head of Mykolaiv RMA, explained that the city's schools work online because they are still targets for the Russian army. Vitalii Kim also explained that the decision on the offline operation of the city's schools will be made by the Office of the President and the Ministry of Education.

Where in Mykolaiv Oblast is there offline education?

57 educational institutions were allowed to work offline in the Mykolaiv region. Most of them are schools of Voznesenskyi and Pervomaiskyi districts. In addition, 94 schools work mixed, that is, children study offline in a certain sequence, for example, one week after another. Another 277 educational institutions work online.

It was also possible to organize an offline educational process in front-line Ochakiv, which is still in the zone of damage by enemy anti-aircraft missiles. There is a mixed form of education.

According to the monitoring of the Department of Education of the Mykolaiv City Council, 65% of schoolchildren want to study full-time.