Authorities in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv have taken an unusual step to ensure safe education for the city’s children by building underground schools in the city's metro system, providing a peaceful haven amid the ongoing conflict.
With all the city’s schools closed, the majority of classes for pupils in Kharkiv had been pushed online but now thousands of pupils attend one of the six metro schools in the city.
Local educators in these underground schools believe that socializing with new friends and teachers is important for young students.
"The children need different approaches, something completely different, to communicate, to experience more affection maybe, because before they just used to listen to the teacher," said Viktoria Kolisnyk, a teacher for more than three decades who is now teaching at a metro school for the first time.
Due to limited room, students take turns to attend underground schools either in the morning or the afternoon on three days a week.
Educational psychologists are also on hand to assess how children are coping in the underground schools, at a time of tension and fear.
"I see the children feel anxious when there are explosions outside the school boundaries. At the moment I see in their eyes both anxiety and concern. All this is transmitted from the parents, because they're very worried about the lives of their children," said educational psychologist Tetiana Alexeychyk.
"We started with 1,000 children. Then we had 2,500. By now 4,400 children are studying in safe conditions at metro schools," said Valerii Shepel, deputy director of the Department of Education at Kharkiv City Council.
Parents are grateful for this new educational initiative, hoping schools can reduce the children’s fear of leaving home and allow them to interact with their peers.
"Given how things are, this is the best we can hope for. Because distance learning for primary school children is very complicated," said the mother of a pupil at a metro school.
"They're going to school, and this is very good. We want these schools to be near our home, so they can spend more time with other children," the father of one of the pupils said.
Students in Kharkiv head underground for school
