Schools are not being reopened in the de-occupied villages of the Mykolaiv region due to the small number of children
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- Darina MelnychukCorrespondent
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A destroyed school building in the village of Kyselivka, photo by NikVestiIn the de-occupied villages of the Mykolaiv region, the restoration of schools is being postponed due to the small number of children. At the same time, local residents are convinced that the lack of educational institutions is preventing families with children from returning to their communities.
This is discussed in the article by NikVesti entitled «No school, no life». How are the most devastated villages in the Mykolaiv region coping today?
In Partyzanske, only the foundations remain of the local school. It was once a two-storey building where around 90 children were educated. After being hit by a Russian missile, the school had to be demolished.
According to the village head, Raisa Shulha, there are currently around 35 children living in Partyzanske, all of whom are studying remotely.
«First and foremost, we need a school. Our children used to win prizes at academic competitions, travel to contests and gain entry to universities. That was the life of the village,» says Raisa Shulha.
There are no plans to rebuild the school at present due to the small number of children. However, according to the village head, it is precisely the lack of a school that is preventing many families from returning to the village.
«There’s no future here; there aren’t enough people. But I really want at least a primary school,» she added.
The situation is currently similar in Kyselivka. According to the village head, Ivan Volko, there are around 50 school-age children living in the village. All of them are also studying remotely.
Formally, the school still exists — the headteacher and teachers are still in post. However, the school does not have its own building: it was hit by a Russian missile. Today, the school stands in the middle of the village, half-ruined — without windows and with a damaged roof.
«Of course, there are plans to rebuild the school, but there aren’t enough people here to make that happen. And so we’re caught in a vicious circle: if there were a school, people might be more inclined to return,» says the village head.
In the village of Luch, the local school and nursery were also severely damaged during Russian shelling and are still out of action.
«The school is in a very poor state. It was hit directly; part of the roof is missing. The nursery is also badly damaged. The roof has been repaired, but the building itself still needs to be restored,» says Svitlana Hinzhul, director of the village cultural centre.
Svitlana Hinzhul, director of the cultural centre in the village of Luch, photo by NikVestiAt present, schoolchildren are being taken by bus to Shevchenkove for lessons, whilst the pre-schoolers remain at home.
«The bus takes the children to school. There’s no nursery, so for now the children are staying at home. I think that if the nursery in Shevchenkove is repaired, then perhaps they’ll be taken there too,» says the woman.
It is worth noting that, four years after the Russian shelling, a reconstruction plan for Lyceum №48 in Mykolaiv has still not been drawn up. Part of the documentation was funded by charitable donors, but due to a lack of funds, work came to a halt at the initial stage. The city authorities hope to complete the project with the support of international partners.
