Mykolaiv Schools Lose 940 Students in 6 Months Amid Ongoing Conflict

In Mykolaiv, the number of students in the city's schools has decreased by 940 over the past six months.

This was reported by Hanna Lychko, Head of the Education Department of Mykolaiv City Council.

According to her, this trend has been observed since the full-scale invasion and remains relevant to this day.

As of September 1, 2024, 37,814 children were enrolled in Mykolaiv schools. However, by February 28, 2025, this number had dropped to 36,955, which is equivalent to the loss of students on the scale of one large school.

Most schoolchildren remain outside the city. According to the Department of Education, 7% of children are currently in other cities of Ukraine, but continue their education in Mykolaiv educational institutions. Another 16% of students have moved abroad, but some of them support distance learning.

At the same time, the number of internally displaced children is growing in the city. Today, 1530 IDP children are enrolled in Mykolaiv schools, which is 264 more than at the beginning of the school year. In addition, 136 children from the temporarily occupied territories are studying in the city's schools.

According to Hanna Lychko, most of the dropouts are those who had previously left for other cities or countries but continued to study remotely for some time. It is impossible to determine the specific age of children who leave educational institutions, as this trend affects all age groups.

For the third year in a row, Mykolaiv's educational system has continued to operate under martial law, providing education to children. To improve safety in educational institutions, 53 shelters have already been repaired - 22 in kindergartens and 31 in schools, and work is underway to equip shelters in 26 other institutions.

And in early February 2025, it was decided to create special commissions to check the possibility of arranging shelters in out-of-school institutions of the city. The purpose of the inspections is to determine whether these premises meet the requirements for use as shelters.

Meanwhile, in Mykolaiv, due to numerous reports of mining of schools and kindergartens, local authorities decided to strengthen security measures in educational institutions. In particular, it is planned to engage security police officers who will be able to quickly check the premises for danger and allow classes to continue if the threat is not confirmed.

Андрій Колісніченко