July 19, 2025, 4:21 p.m.
(Photo credit: NUS)
The construction of an underground school is almost complete in the Vysokopilska community in Kherson Oblast. Starting September 1, 2025, students will study in a mixed format - partly online, partly offline, right in the shelter.
This was reported by Kostyantyn Starodumov, head of the Vysokopil military settlement administration, to Vgrosh.
According to the official, the radiation shelter was built in parallel with the repair of the main school building - a state subvention was received for this. The work is already at the final stage and the school is scheduled to open at the end of 2025. Currently, the school is being coordinated with the State Emergency Service, the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection and the police.
"But all students who study at this school will sit at desks in a mixed format in a shelter located separately from the school starting September 1. That is, it can be called an "underground school," Starodumov said.
It is expected that children will temporarily study in the shelter until the reconstruction of the school is completed, after which they will attend classes in the usual format. If necessary, during air raids, they will go back down to the equipped shelter.
According to the head of the community, the situation in the community is now stable - artillery and mortars do not reach here, so children can study in the same way as in relatively safe regions of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the construction ofthe "underground schools" in Kherson has been suspended to analyze the situation around these facilities. According to Yaroslav Shanko, the head of the Kherson MBA, they are currently checking what has already been done, what money has been spent, who performed the work, and whether law enforcement officers have questions about the legality of this construction.
According to Mr. Shanko, in the current conditions of active hostilities, "underground schools" in the city are not yet appropriate. At the same time, he emphasized that in the future, such shelters will become an integral part of the social infrastructure.
Back in April last year, the head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration, Oleksandr 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 2024, 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.
Ірина Глухова