In Mykolaiv, 442 nursery staff have been made redundant as the nurseries are closed due to a lack of shelter

Nursery School No. 138 in Balabanivka, which was closed down by the city council. Photo by ‘NikVesti’

In Mykolaiv, 442 staff posts have been cut over the past two years in nurseries where the educational programme has been suspended. There are currently 27 such establishments in the city — they are unable to operate due to a lack of shelters.

The cuts affected teaching staff and support staff, according to the Mykolaiv City Council’s Department of Education in response to an information request from NikVesti.

At present, due to problems with shelters, classes are not being held in 27 kindergartens in Mykolaiv. These establishments either have no shelters, or the premises available were deemed unsuitable for use as shelters following an inspection.

It was previously reported that there were proposals to reduce the number of staff at kindergartens in Mykolaiv that are not operating during the war. In reality, they will not resume operations in the near future either, as they lack basements and, consequently, shelters. The proposal concerned 29 pre-school education establishments.

However, following discussions, members of the Mykolaiv City Council voted to close only one nursery school — No. 138 on Oleh Kravets Street in Balabanivka. The votes on the other two — Nos. 104 and 128 — did not secure the required majority.

On the same day, NikVesti visited the nursery and inspected its condition.

Subsequently, the public prosecutor’s office opened criminal proceedings following the Mykolaiv City Council’s decision to close pre-school educational establishments, specifically nursery school №138.

Why does Mykolaiv want to close three nurseries?

The Mykolaiv Department of Education initiated a decision to close three nurseries: №104 (a crèche and nursery on Torhova Street in the Korabelnyi district), №128 (a nursery-kindergarten at the junction of Mariupolska Street and Pavlo Skoropadskyi Street (formerly Admiral Makarov Street)) and No. 138 (a nursery-kindergarten on Oleh Kravets Street in Balabanivka). The official reason is the lack of, and the impossibility of fitting out, civil defence shelters. This means that, should the motion be passed at the session, there will no longer be such educational establishments in Mykolaiv, and their total number will decrease.

During the committee meeting, the chair of the education committee, Hanna Nord, stated that it is the institutions themselves that are being proposed for closure , whilst the buildings will remain the property of the city.

Following the closure of the three pre-school educational institutions, initiated by the Mykolaiv Department of Education, the Department of Municipal Property and the City Council will decide how to utilise them.

What do city councillors think about the closure?

Councillor Olena Kiseliova supported the closure of the pre-school educational establishments, stating that it is not cost-effective for the city to maintain them. She says that there is a broader issue behind the closure than simply the fact that they lack bomb shelters and that it is impossible to install them there. Throughout the war, the centres have been closed, but the buildings and staff have had to be maintained all this time.

Councillor Artem Iliuk stated that he could support the legal closure of the three nurseries, but added that he would not support the subsequent privatisation of these buildings.

Tamila Buhaienko, former deputy mayor of Mykolaiv, also commented on the Education Department’s proposal to close the three nurseries. She believes this could lead to a shortage of places in pre-school institutions once the war ends.

Yurii Hranaturov, who served as Mayor of Mykolaiv from 2014 to 2016, stated that the issue of nurseries is of critical importance to the city, particularly given the changing demographics and the renewed demand for pre-school education. According to him, the situation regarding nurseries in Mykolaiv has repeatedly gone through various phases — from a surplus to a shortage of places.

Hanna Remennikova, a councillor on the Mykolaiv City Council, believes that should some nurseries be closed down and subsequently privatised, the proceeds from this should be channelled towards modernising existing facilities.