Ukraine plans underground school as Russian attacks continue
Kharkiv, Ukraine, plans to build the country's first fully underground school to ensure continuous learning for children during Russian attacks. The city's mayor announced the plan on Telegram, stating that the shelter would allow thousands of children to safely continue their education during missile threats. The conflict with Russia has resulted in the destruction of over 360 educational facilities and disrupted education for many children.
Kharkiv has announced plans to construct the nation's inaugural fully underground school, designed to facilitate continuous learning for children amidst the threat of Russian attacks.
Sharing the announcement on Telegram, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said, "Such a shelter will enable thousands of Kharkiv children to continue their safe face-to-face education even during missile threats,"
Russia's invasion in February of the previous year resulted in over 360 educational facilities being destroyed and 3,417 experiencing bombing and shelling, reported Independent citing data from Ukraine.
Ongoing attacks have disrupted education, resulting in only about one-third of school-age children regularly attending in-person classes.
Persistent assaults not only hinder progress but also cause students to forget what they have learned according to
Unicef . Regina De Dominicis, Unicef's regional director for Europe and Central Asia highlighted, "Not only has this left Ukraine’s children struggling to progress in their education, but they are also struggling to retain what they learnt when their schools were fully functioning."
More than 1,300 schools have been completely demolished in the 19-month-long conflict within Ukraine. Unicef reported that over half of the children displaced to seven countries amidst the conflict are not enrolled in national education due to language barriers and overburdened education systems. Kharkiv's plan to establish the country's first underground school has been announced in response to the crisis.
While details about the opening date and enrollment capacity were not disclosed by the mayor, he assured that funding for schools would remain intact for the current and next year.
Kharkiv has been organizing 60 separate classrooms within metro stations before the recent school year, accommodating over 1,000 children. Ukraine's education minister, Oksen Lisovyi, highlighted that 84% of the country's schools now have operational shelters.