“School offline”: the first underground school opened in Zaporizhzhia
17 December 2024 11:49
As part of the implementation of the comprehensive School Offline policy, the first underground school was opened in Zaporizhzhia, where 1000 students will be able to study full-time. This was reported by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
According to the ministry, this educational institution has become the most reliable and modern educational space in the region, created to ensure that children are safe in the vicinity of the front line.
The underground school is reportedly built 7 meters deep under a 60 cm thick monolithic reinforced concrete slab covered by several meters of soil, providing reliable protection that can withstand rocket attacks.
Among the school’s features:
– modern classrooms with interactive whiteboards and adaptive desks;
– conditions for teaching children with special educational needs: lifts, Braille signs, call buttons and adapted sanitary rooms;
– psychological support and certified stress relief classes;
– organized catering for junior high school students with the delivery of ready-to-eat meals and a buffet.
The underground school was built according to a standard UNICEF project in a record 6 months. Funding was provided by a state subvention and the local budget.
It is reported that the construction of 10 more underground schools for more than 8,000 children is underway in Zaporizhzhia region.
How school shelters are being built in Ukraine in general
The state has allocated UAH 7.5 billion for shelters for schools in the frontline regions, which will allow 100,000 children to return to full-time education. Currently, 79 such facilities are being actively built or repaired. These projects can be found on the DREAM platform.
As Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said when announcing the allocation of funding, the government’s strategy is to return to offline learning wherever possible.
“We want Ukrainians to be able to return from abroad, and security is one of the key elements,” the Prime Minister emphasized.
In August, the government also approved the Procedure for Implementing a Pilot Project to Create Physical Protection Facilities in Educational Institutions, following a proposal by the Ministry of Education and Science.
The Procedure for Implementing a Pilot Project was approved, which aims to provide shelter for participants in the educational process under martial law by creating protected spaces in educational institutions of all forms of ownership in territories of territorial communities with a satisfactory or moderate level of security risk, determined in accordance with the Methodology for Assessing Security Risks in the Education System Related to the Armed Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.
