The Education Ministry approved the projects of the first five underground schools in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Governor Ivan Fedorov announced on May 1.
Kharkiv was the first Ukrainian city where the concept of underground schools was introduced to ensure offline education despite regular Russian attacks. The first school was established in Kharkiv's metro.
As the front line runs through both Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv oblasts, both regions suffer from frequent Russian strikes.
The subvention from the state for the schools' project is up to Hr 500 million ($12.6 million). Fedorov said that the school construction tender will be announced this week.
Three schools will be built in the regional center of Zaporizhzhia, and the other two elsewhere in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The governor did not specify the deadline for their completion.
The newly built educational facilities will become educational platforms for children from several Zaporizhzhia districts, as well as from the nearby settlements.
The local administration aims to build 10 underground schools in the future, according to Fedorov.
According to the February poll of the Ukrainian polling agency Vox Populi, 81% of students in front-line regions learn online rather than in physical classrooms.
Deputy Education Minister Yevhen Kudriavets said in February that over 3,500 educational institutions were damaged due to the Russian full-scale invasion. Nearly 400 of them were almost destroyed.
Every seventh Ukrainian school was damaged by Russian attacks, according to the ministry's calculations.
Abbey Fenbert
