1,700 places for safe learning: Four underground schools finished in Zaporizhzhia and region
Фото: Запорізька обласна державна адміністрація
Four underground schools in the Zaporizhzhia region were completed and equipped in time for the new school year. Two of them are in the city of Zaporizhzhia itself, and two are in communities elsewhere in the region. The new safe educational spaces have a capacity of 1,700 places and make it possible to hold in-person classes despite regular, recurring air raid alerts and shelling.
This is reported by Rubryka, citing the Ministry of Education of Ukraine.
What is the problem?
A safe educational environment is an integral part of the New Ukrainian School reform. A modern school needs a space where a child can learn, interact with others, and develop without a constant threat to life and health. This is especially important for communities living under regular air raid alerts and shelling. In such conditions, whether a school has an equipped protective space determines whether it can hold in-person classes, and how uninterrupted they will be.
Zaporizhzhia is one of the regions where the security situation directly affects children's ability to study in person. Because of regular air raid alerts and shelling, schools must consider not only whether children can stay in a shelter, but also how to run a full educational process during prolonged threats. That is why underground schools give communities additional opportunities to organize safe in-person learning.
Photo: Zaporizhzhia Regional State Administration
What is the solution?
Underground schools are full-fledged educational spaces built in protected underground premises. They allow children to learn, socialize, and interact with teachers and classmates even during prolonged air raid alerts, without interrupting the educational process. These four facilities are part of 15 underground schools and shelters whose construction was completed before the start of the new school year.
"The state is systematically investing in shelters and the construction of underground schools. Today we see that this is one of the most effective models for organizing in-person learning in regions with heightened security risks, because children are constantly in a protected space rather than going down to a shelter only after an air raid alert sounds. Zaporizhzhia region is one example of large-scale work in this area: since the start of the full-scale invasion, 22 underground schools and 6 radiation shelters have been built here, which together can accommodate almost 24,800 students, provided classes are held in two shifts. This is an important result of joint work by the state and communities, which allows children to continue their education and interact fully with their classmates and teachers," said Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Andrii Butenko.
Photo: Zaporizhzhia Regional State Administration
How does it work?
Creating safe infrastructure in Zaporizhzhia and the region is part of the state's systematic work to preserve in-person learning during the war. In total, more than 125 underground schools are already operating in Ukraine. In 2026, UAH 5 billion (around €96 mln) in state subvention is allocated for equipping school shelters. The funding covers 113 shelters in 22 regions, with priority given to communities with high and very high security risk levels.
Territorial communities carry out the construction and equipping of the shelters, which contributes to funding the general fund of Ukraine's State Budget under the joint program with the World Bank, "Improving the Accessibility and Resilience of Education in Ukraine in Crisis" (LEARN). The equipping is carried out with financial support from the European Union under the Ukraine Facility instrument.
As previously reported by Rubryka, the first underground kindergarten opened in Zaporizhzhia. The new barrier-free space is designed for 140 people and will serve 115 children, including children with special educational needs.
