Construction of underground schools in Kherson put on hold

Six educational institutions are currently operating in a mixed format on the right bank of the Kherson region, including five schools and a kindergarten.

This was reported by Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson Regional State Administration, to Ukrinform.

He explained that these institutions are located in safer communities where shelters have been set up, allowing more than 550 children to continue their education. Prokudin noted that the goal is to provide offline education in every liberated community where there are children, as the school not only teaches but also helps children socialize.

The official emphasized that the construction and repair of protective structures for educational institutions continues, albeit more slowly than planned. Most of the shelters are being built in communities far from the contact line, such as Vysokopilska, Velyko Oleksandrivska and Kochubeivska. The authorities hope that children from these areas will be able to return to school in September.

As for Kherson itself, there are plans to build underground schools in each neighborhood, similar to projects in Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv. However, due to the current security situation in the 20-kilometer zone, these projects are currently on hold, and construction continues at only two sites.

"Today, construction continues, albeit sluggishly, without a lot of equipment, at two sites, and we have put two more on hold until the security situation changes," Prokudin said.

Back in April last year, Prokudin said that the administration plans to build two underground schools in Kherson. The project will take a long time to implement due to the security situation, as Kherson is only three kilometers from the front line, making even the road to the school dangerous for children.

In July, at a meeting with the Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Oksen Lisovyi, plans were presented to build an underground school in Kherson that could accommodate up to 900 students who would study in two shifts. After that, land plotswere selected for construction. The estimated completion date was 6 to 9 months.

The project of the Kharkiv underground school was chosen for the implementation of this project, which was personally reviewed by Roman Mrochko, the head of the Kherson City Military Administration.

Андрій Колісніченко