Lithuania to construct underground schools with shelters in Ukraine
Lithuania is going to build underground schools-shelters in six regions of Ukraine, Arturas Zarnovskis, according to head of Lithuanian programs Co-create Future of Ukraine.
Where underground schools to be built
Thus, educational institutions are planned to be built in Mykolaiv, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, and Chernihiv regions.
The construction of underground schools is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2024.
According to Zarnovskis, in some regions of Ukraine, children cannot go to school because of Russia's full-scale war, which is a huge problem.
"And if we also remember the previous COVID restrictions, it turns out that this is the fourth school year when children do not go to school. Imagine, some fourth graders have not been to school at all. A normal school, not an online school," he says.
He adds that such schools will be built from scratch where there were no shelters before. The safety conditions of the bomb shelters will also include anti-radiation protection.
"Our goal is for children to be able to return to the educational process with direct communication with each other and teachers. In other conditions, such bomb shelters can be used in different ways: for sports, cultural activities, and leisure time after school," said Arturas Zarnovskis.
Underground schools in Ukraine
Underground schools are a wartime reality in Ukraine. For example, as of April 2, a school was completed in Kharkiv, where 600 children will be able to study.