68% of educational institutions in Ukraine already have shelters before the start of the school year

As the school year approaches, Ukrainian educational institutions are actively taking steps to equip shelters to ensure safety, according to recent reports. Currently, 68% of schools and other educational institutions are already equipped with shelters, which can accommodate more than 4.7 million students and teachers. However, according to the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal, it is necessary to strengthen the efforts of local authorities and intensify the process of arranging shelters, as the safety of children is a priority.

In April, the Government of Ukraine allocated funds for the construction of shelters in educational institutions, totaling UAH 1.5 billion. However, the Prime Minister emphasized that this is only the beginning, and it is important that all educational institutions are provided with reliable shelters.

Denys Shmyhal emphasized that the importance of shelters in schools lies in their diversity and reliability. These can be either underground monolithic shelters or arrangements on surfaces near educational institutions, providing a high level of protection.

According to the Prime Minister, the greatest need for shelters is felt in the regions under threat from Russian shelling, in particular in Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Dnipro and Odesa regions. The Prime Minister called for the completion of the construction of shelters in these regions as soon as possible.

Plans for 2023 include the construction of almost 1,500 new shelters in accordance with the standards of reliability, barrier-free accessibility and energy efficiency. In total, 5.4 thousand shelters need to be built in Ukraine to ensure the complete safety of schoolchildren and teachers.

By the way, the Prime Minister emphasized the importance of regular monitoring of the security situation in communities by the Internal Affairs authorities. If there is a threat to the life or health of children, online learning will be chosen as a safe format. The final decisions on the format of training should be made by local authorities, which have more information about the situation in specific communities.