Mykolaiv Education Officials Challenge Inspection Findings, Cite Media Damage

At a meeting of the Mykolaiv Regional Council's Commission on Education, they discussed the results of an inspection of educational institutions conducted in February by the monitoring group of the Office of the Ukrainian Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights. The inspection revealed numerous violations, including problems with access to education, the sanitary condition of the premises, expired medicines, and the lack of proper conditions for children. This information was widely publicized in the media and social media.

Alla Velikhovska, head of the Education Department of Mykolaiv Regional State Administration , expressed dissatisfaction with both the inspection itself and the fact that information about its results appeared in the media. The official said that the regional leadership had not been warned about the visit of the monitoring group and questioned the competence of the inspectors.

"We have not received any notification of the inspection from the Commissioner. I don't even know who these people are, what kind of education they have and what rights they have," Velikhovska was outraged.

She also criticized the journalists who reprinted the materials of human rights activist Inna Miroshnychenko, who was the first to report on violations in boarding schools in her blog.

"The media replicated photos from social networks with 'hype headlines'. The posts included testimonies of children who were interviewed without permission," the official said.

Anton Tabunschyk, head of the Mykolaiv Regional Council, supported Velikhovska's position, emphasizing that the situation caused reputational damage to the region. He believes that the main problem is not violations in boarding schools, but excessive media coverage, which, in his opinion, could negatively affect the international perception of the situation in Ukraine.

"We have created such an information profile that everything is bad, and children in Ukraine will be even worse off. This can have unpredictable consequences," said Tabunschyk.

One of the questions also concerned the Antonivka Art Lyceum, where children from the Shyrokolanivska special school are staying. The monitoring group's report stated that they were not taken to the shelter because of a ban from the management. The representative of the lyceum denied this, emphasizing that the shelter had been repaired, but the head of the Shyrokolanivska school had to issue the relevant order to evacuate the children - this was not done.

Natalia Khoronzhuk, director of Voznesensk Special School, complained that representatives of the monitoring group talked to children without teachers present, which could have frightened the students, especially children with autism, Down syndrome and other diseases.

Recently, a member of the Ombudsman's Office monitoring group, human rights activist Inna Miroshnychenko shared the photos of a public inspection of the Lysohirsk Special School in Mykolaiv region. They clearly show signs of the terrible conditions in which children live.

Андрій Колісніченко