in the heart of the “metro school” of Kharkiv to escape bombs and air alerts

Almost two years after the start of the war, Ukrainians have learned to live with the bombings. To be able to provide education for its children, the city of Kharkiv has set up classes in the metro.

Kharkiv, in northeastern Ukraine, is the country’s second city. It is bombarded daily by Russian troops : according to the World Bank, this region is one of those where the damage is the most significant, with Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporijja, Kherson and kyiv.

But life has not stopped, however, since February 24, 2022 and the start of the Russian intervention. The Kharkiv town hall has opened five schools in the metro, to ensure education for the city’s children, as the situation is not stable. A section of the metro corridor has been closed to the public, only students and their teachers can use it.

Children talk all the time

The parents do not have access, they wait in front of a door guarded by police officers. “Here, the students work, they play, they talk. Even during recess ! I asked my daughter if she takes her cell phone, she replied ‘no, we talk among ourselves’, testifies Oksanna, whose daughter has been attending school here since the last school year. For her, it’s important to interact with boys and girls her age.”

These classes are glass containers and overlook the too bright light of the metro that can be heard in the distance. The air is treated by special ventilation, but everything else is normal : a blackboard, more or less concentrated students, a teacher. Tetyana Volodymyrivna has been teaching for 37 years. “When I was asked to come work here, I didn’t hesitate for a second, she says. Even if these children are not in the age group I usually work with.”

“Nothing replaces direct communication. That’s why parents understand that they need to bring their children to metro school, if they can.”

Tetyana Volodymyrivna, teacher

at franceinfo

This “metro school” is a unique case in the world. It’s starting to attract a lot of interest lately, explains Valeri Shepel. He works for the department in charge of education at Kharkiv town hall. : “There is a lot of interest, especially from Taiwanese journalists. Because they too are under threat and risk of attack. They were really very interested. They wanted to know everything about how everything is organized, how we proceeded, what we started with… Let’s pray they don’t need it !”

In Kharkiv, almost every second school is damaged, four are completely destroyed. The city is looking for other underground locations to accommodate more students in the coming months.