The director of lyceum #109 said she let children wear shorts to class on September 2
4 October 13:09
EXCLUSIVE
Students of the Kyiv Lyceum #109 who came to class on September 2 wearing shorts were able to enter the school. The lyceum’s principal, Vitalia Polyakova, told the "Komersant Ukrainian" YouTube channel.
Answering a journalist’s question about whether children in shorts were able to attend classes, Polyakova said:
“Yes. Well, someone may have reacted, went with their parents and changed their clothes,” she said.
According to the director, the issue of the dress code is raised every year.
“I cannot say that these were radical actions. I wasn’t even going to make any comments. I collected them later anyway, which, by the way, is not on the video (on social media – ed.). I told them that today we’ll go in shorts, and tomorrow be sure to bring pants. And the pants should be such that you can sit in them in the shelter,” Polyakova explained.
She emphasized that it is not only about the appearance of students, but also about their safety in case of air raids.
“We are not in contact with something so good, and we are not sitting in a classroom. There are different situations, very difficult ones. You need to go to school in something that covers your body. In clothes that are safe and will not immediately start to burn or melt on you,” the principal said.
Ms. Polyakova also added that the school had already been hit by shelling.
“Yes, they did. And they were hot. It’s good that it was not a building, but just a yard. So it’s real,” she summarized.
Vitaliya Polyakova is the director of Taras Shevchenko Lyceum #109 in Kyiv, located in the Pechersk district of the capital. She is also a PhD in Psychology (2018), a senior researcher at the Laboratory of Psychodiagnostics and Scientific and Psychological Information at the H.S. Kostiuk Institute of Psychology of the National Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of Ukraine.
on September 2, 2025, Polyakova found herself at the center of a public outcry when she did not allow students to attend class because they were wearing shorts. This incident became a topic of discussion in the media and among the parent community.
Vitaliya Polyakova is currently on vacation and is expected to return to work after providing appropriate explanations in accordance with the law.
