Ukraine to transform schools and kindergartens: "They will be like little Google offices"
The Ukrainian government wants to transform the school buildings damaged in the war. At first five schools in different regions will be restored, and then the project will be extended to 500 educational facilities.
Source: Oksen Lisovyi, Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, and Mykhailo Fedorov, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, during an architecture workshop of creating the conception of transformation of Soviet schools on 28 August
Five schools from Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts, which are on the register of damaged property, will participate in the pilot project.
It is planned to finish the transformation by the start of the new 2024/2025 academic year.
"Soviet schools were designed to raise generations that do not think outside the box and act, dress and behave according to a standard – they raised cogs for a big totalitarian machine.
We need creative, brave and broad-minded people – it is formed from early years, mainly through interactions with others and the space you're in," Oksen Lisovyi explained.
He stated that next year, simultaneously with the transformation of schools, the government will also start refurbishing kindergartens but "everything depends on the funding".
Inesa Lozivets, acting principal of a school in Dnipropetrosvk Oblast, which participates in the project, states that this school operates under a mixed format of education. There are about 470 students in this educational facility.
The children will switch to distance learning for the period of transformation. There will also be separate rooms where they will be able to consult offline.
"This school was built in 1967 so it needs a 100% transformation. A school, a hospital, a prison – it all looks the same: there is a corridor with windows on one side and classrooms on the other," Lozivets explained.
"All prominent tech companies or universities look bright, they attract the attention of people, it feels nice to be there, they are inspiring.
Our goal is to turn every school and kindergarten into a small Google or Apple office that would inspire a child so that they want to come to school. We must leave the USSR behind not only in terms of curriculums but also in terms of design", Mykhailo Fedeorov remarked.
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