113 underground schools are being built in Ukraine
Construction is currently underway in Ukraine on 113 underground schools, which will ensure a safe learning environment in regions facing high levels of threat.
More than half of these protective structures are scheduled to be fully completed and put into operation by the start of the new school year.
This was officially announced by Oksen Lisovyi, Ukraine’s Minister of Education and Science, in an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
The minister noted that over a hundred similar underground educational facilities are already successfully operating across the country.
The main goal of this large-scale initiative is to create suitable conditions for in-person learning in areas where traditional classes are impossible due to constant enemy shelling.
The relevant ministry is directing significant efforts and financial resources toward the implementation of these safety projects.
“All children remaining in frontline areas must have the opportunity to study in safe conditions in underground schools. These are costly and long-term projects. We are currently working on this within the limits of what the Ukrainian budget can afford today. We have good results, but this is not enough,” the minister said.
Currently, the construction of new safe spaces is at various stages of completion. According to Oksen Lisovyi, over 60% of the planned underground schools will be ready by September 1, 2026, allowing thousands of students to take their seats at their desks.
The vast majority of these specialized facilities are designed to comfortably accommodate between 500 and 1,000 children at a time.
If shift-based schooling is implemented, a significantly larger number of Ukrainian students will be able to receive a quality education there.
Building a reliable underground complex requires significant capital investment. The head of the Ministry of Education and Science added that the cost of constructing a single secondary school ranges from 80 to 120 million hryvnias.
The state is consciously undertaking these expenses because the safety of the younger generation is a priority.
“These projects are expensive. But this is about the normal lives of children and our human capital, so it’s worth it,” the minister believes.
Overall, the Ministry of Education and Science plans to provide adequate conditions for full-fledged education in underground schools for about 100,000 Ukrainian children.
However, this figure is not final and changes directly depending on the movement of the front line and the security situation in specific regions.
Oksen Lisovyi noted that a single high-quality underground school may be quite sufficient for the needs of a small community. At the same time, logistical problems may still arise due to the potential security risks involved in transporting students from remote villages.
There are over 100 underground schools in Ukraine, with another 113 under construction
In Sumy, there are plans to build four underground schools, and there will be a total of eleven such educational institutions in the Sumy region.
