In the war-torn city of Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, secondary school teacher Nataliia Gutaruk has taught her students exclusively online for almost four years, first due to the COVID-19 pandemic and now the ongoing war. As a result, she often doesn’t recognize her students when she encounters them in public, as they rarely turn on their cameras during virtual lessons.
Soon, however, she will return to face-to-face teaching, but in a new setting—an underground school designed to keep children safe from the constant threat of bombings. These windowless, radiation-hardened classrooms, situated six-and-a-half meters below ground, are part of Ukraine’s Ministry of Education and Science (MoES) initiative to bring children back to in-person learning in secure environments.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, over 365 educational institutions have been completely destroyed, and more than 3,700 have been damaged. To ensure safety, the MoES ruled that only schools with bomb shelters could hold in-person classes. As of May 2024, only 58% of schools met this requirement, prompting a large-scale investment in constructing underground schools in frontline and border regions. The aim is to restore in-person learning and provide a sense of normalcy and socialization for students, which remote learning cannot offer.
In Zaporizhzhia, construction has begun on a massive underground facility to accommodate 460 students and 40 staff members. This new school, shared between Gutaruk’s school and another, will operate in two shifts, allowing nearly 1,000 students to attend full-time classes. Despite concerns about the lack of natural light, educators like Gutaruk see the benefits of having a safe environment for students to interact and continue their education even during air raid alarms.
The underground school initiative is part of a broader effort by the MoES to return 300,000 students to in-person learning by the end of the year through its “School Offline” policy. The ministry, in collaboration with UNICEF, has established guidelines for building safe and sustainable underground facilities equipped with modern amenities and backup power supplies. To date, the government has invested 2.35 billion Ukrainian Hryvnias (£45 million) in repairing and constructing shelters for 53 schools, with plans to expand the initiative to more regions.
One of the most successful examples of underground schooling is in Kharkiv, a city just 18 kilometers from the Russian border. With air raid sirens sounding daily, around 2,200 students are attending classes in makeshift classrooms inside six underground train stations. The metro schools, which blend in-person and online learning, have been hailed for offering students a safer, more interactive educational experience. Teachers like Svitlana Babenko, who volunteered to teach in the metro, believe that in-person education offers distinct advantages, such as the ability to monitor and support students more closely than is possible online.
Students like 15-year-old Eva* also prefer the new arrangement, feeling safer underground and more focused in class compared to studying at home during air raids. The success of the metro schools has convinced the MoES that expanding underground learning opportunities is essential for the future of education in Ukraine, especially in regions heavily affected by the conflict.
Even in western Ukraine, where fewer Russian attacks occur, the move towards underground education is gaining momentum. Solomiya Boykovych, who runs four private preschools in the Lviv region, is constructing a new facility with an underground shelter large enough to house 150 children. This shelter will be equipped with ventilation, power from solar panels, and sufficient space for children to nap, play, and eat safely.
Boykovych’s decision to build an underground shelter is not just a wartime measure but an investment in the future, as she believes the threat from Russia will persist even after the war ends. “There will always be sirens and missiles launching—this is our new reality,” she says.
As Ukraine continues to grapple with the devastating effects of the war, the government’s investment in underground schools provides a lifeline for children’s education, offering them a safe place to learn, grow, and maintain a sense of community during these challenging times.
