The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine proposes to build underground schools in Mykolaiv so as not to lose students: «Children and their parents will go from there»

Educational institutions in the front-line cities, in particular Mykolaiv, must be transferred to offline education in order not to lose students. For this, it is necessary to build underground schools in the regions.

On the air of the national telethon on Monday, April 17, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Mykhailo Vynnytskyi said that such construction should become a priority of the government, writes NikVesti.

For almost four years of distance learning, the level of knowledge and communication skills of the current generation of schoolchildren and students has deteriorated, the official says. Mykhailo Vynnytskyi emphasized that the government should create safe conditions for learning so as not to lose children in schools in Kharkiv, Odesa, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, etc.

«We have been online for 4 years now: covid, a full-scale invasion. We have enough educational losses, the question is not knowledge. The question is not that children know less, but that they have certain skills that are not as developed as they should be. This is socialization, group work, presentation. We grew up in a society where we personally communicated with each other. We have to return children to personal communication — this is a priority. But it is obvious that safety is a priority. That is why we are making it a government-wide priority that we should have normal underground schools, especially in such cities as Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Dnipro, Odesa. Because if we don't have it, our children will leave these territories together with their parents, and this is a step towards our enemy. We cannot allow this,» the official said.

At the same time, he noted that this project will cost «billions of budget funds».

«But this is an incredibly expensive business. Billions of budget funds will be spent on the construction of such shelters. We have donors who help us, but there is still a lot of work to do,» added Mykhailo Vynnytskyi.

How do children study in frontline cities?

As you know, a similar project for the construction of an underground school was implemented in Kharkiv. The building is built according to the highest safety standards, has 20 classrooms and is designed to accommodate 900 students in two shifts. In general, distance, offline and mixed forms of education operate in the city.

At the end of March, for the first time since the beginning of the full-scale war, 24 schools in Zaporizhzhia returned to the mixed education format. Schools in Dnipro also operate in a mixed format.

And in Odesa in 2024, almost all educational institutions will be working full-time.

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 are working 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 Pervomayskyi 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.