In a village in the Mykolaiv region, children are unable to get to school — the authorities have not provided a bus

The village of Hrebenyky. Photo: Suspilne Mykolaiv/Yulia Filimon

In the village of Hrebenyky in the Mykolaiv region, four schoolchildren are unable to get to the secondary school in the neighbouring community because the school bus has stopped picking them up since the start of the school year.

Local officials and the pupils’ parents described the situation in a report by «Suspilne».

Hrebenyky does not have its own secondary school, so the children attend school in the neighbouring village of Buzke — approximately seven kilometres away. Previously, they were taken there by the school bus, but on 1 September, the bus did not arrive.

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The problem arose because the villages belong to different local authorities. Hrebenyky is part of the Nova Odesa local authority, whilst Buzke is part of the Sukhyi Elanets local authority.

Oleksandr Postyka, head of the Sukhyi Elanets community, says that for five years their transport had been taking children from Hrebenyky. The Nova Odesa community covered the fuel costs and paid the driver’s wages.

However, last year Oleksandr Postyka warned the Nova Odesa community that the bus would no longer run on this route. Among the reasons he cites are additional costs and the poor condition of the road, which has already necessitated repairs to the vehicle.

«It’s a financial burden for us; it’s a burden – there’s no road. We wrecked the minibus and we’ve repaired it,» says Oleksandr Postyka.

The Nova Odesa community has its own transport, but it is not authorised to use it to take children to school in another community, says Nova Odesa Mayor Oleksandr Poliakov.

«We can cooperate and even, as we did with Hrebenyky and the Sukhyi Elanets community, provide financial assistance. But taking children to another community for their education is wrong,» explained Oleksandr Poliakov.

At the same time, parents do not want to transfer their children to another school. Maryna, whose child attends the school in Buzke, says she cannot drive her to the lyceum every day herself.

«The headteacher told me they won’t be providing transport for the children: «You’ll have to sort this out.» I can’t sort it out. I have a car, but I won’t be driving them every day. My car is for emergencies. My child is still young,» she said.

Currently, four children from Hrebenyky need a lift to school. At the same time, a cooperation agreement signed in 2021 is still in force between the Novo-Odesa and Sukhyi Elanets communities.

According to Nadiia Molchanovska, head of the education department at Nova Odesa City Council, the agreement stipulates that the community will cover the costs of transporting its schoolchildren. It remains in force until 31 December 2026.

«We have tried twice to contact them and have written letters regarding the continuation of this cooperation; we understand that it is more cost-effective for our community to maintain this relationship. However, to date, there have been no positive results,» said Nadiia Molchanovska.

It should be noted that in the Mykolaiv region, 315 school buses are used to transport pupils, along with a further 31 designated for transporting children in wheelchairs. At the same time, one of the ongoing problems remains the shortage of drivers, who cannot currently be exempted from mobilisation.