Yellow level of drone threat — can children remain in classrooms and what should teachers do
Kyiv • UNN
During a yellow threat level, students must move to a shelter, and classes in classrooms are suspended. If there is insufficient space, blended or shift-based learning is recommended.
In the event of a yellow level of drone threat being declared, educational institutions without equipped civil protection shelters are required to suspend the educational process. Students and staff must be evacuated to shelters, where education may be resumed if the relevant conditions are available. This was reported by Education Ombudswoman Nadiia Leshchyk, UNN writes.
Details
Resolution No. 1092 "Certain Issues Concerning the Optimization of Population Protection and Response to Threats from Air Attack Weapons" defines two threat levels:
- red level - a missile or missile-and-drone threat, as well as a massive drone threat;
- yellow level - a drone threat.
Under subparagraph 3 of paragraph 1 of the resolution, when a yellow threat level is established, the educational process in educational institutions, except those with equipped civil protection shelters, is suspended.
Can lessons continue in classrooms during the yellow danger level?
Leshchyk emphasizes that establishing a yellow threat level does not mean that children may remain in classrooms and continue studying.
In such a situation, the educational process is interrupted, and all participants in the educational process must move to a shelter.
If the shelter is adapted for conducting classes, the educational process may be resumed there.
Thus, the procedure for educational institutions during the yellow and red threat levels is effectively the same: the educational process is suspended, participants move to a shelter, and, where possible, education continues there.
What to do if there is insufficient space in the shelter
A separate problem arises in schools where the shelter's capacity does not allow all students and staff to be accommodated at the same time.
The authorized official recommends organizing the educational process so that the number of participants in the educational process simultaneously present in the building corresponds to the shelter's capacity.
Possible options include:
- blended learning - on designated days, some students study in person while others study remotely, after which they switch;
- shift-based learning;
- organizing in-person education for certain categories of students, such as children in primary and fifth grades, while the other students study remotely.
The specific format, the Education Ombudswoman notes, should be chosen by the school principal together with the teachers, depending on the capabilities of the particular educational institution.
Should teachers go to school during the yellow danger level?
The Education Ombudswoman separately drew attention to situations in which employees of educational institutions are required to be at their workplaces during a threat.
Employees of educational institutions must not be forced to leave a safe place and go to school, the authorized official emphasizes. According to her, such actions are unacceptable, since an employer cannot require an employee to leave a safe place where they are supposed to remain during an air raid alert.
This is especially important given that the yellow threat level may escalate to red.
The authorized official reported that she had received complaints about cases in which employees of education departments checked whether teachers were present at their workplaces during an air raid alert.
Regarding children, parents should take into account the security situation on a particular day: whether the teachers have reached the educational institution and whether the school will be able to accommodate the child in the shelter.
According to the Education Ombudswoman, under conditions of constant changes in the security situation, these issues effectively have to be resolved every day.
The route to school must also be safe
The authorized official draws particular attention to the route to the educational institution. Due to constant air raid alerts in some regions, the journey to school may be dangerous, as an alert signal may catch students and teachers while they are on the way.
Transporting children by school buses is particularly risky.
The ombudswoman suggests that communities where the level of security risks has increased take into account the experience of cities located close to the combat zone. In particular, during business trips to Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia, she saw mobile shelters installed at stops and in places where people gather.
In her opinion, other communities where security risks are increasing should consider developing a safe route to school and the possibility of installing such mobile shelters.
They plan to install 840 mobile shelters on roads leading to schools
The Office of the President of Ukraine has initiated the “Safe Route for Schoolchildren” project. As part of it, 840 mobile shelters are planned to be installed on roads leading to schools in frontline regions.
At the same time, the Commissioner notes that the use of such structures has certain problematic aspects. In particular, mobile shelters are expensive, and in some cities they were used for purposes other than intended, as a result of which some of them had to be closed.
Leshchyk also emphasizes that such mobile shelters should not be placed on the balance sheet of an educational institution. They should be on the balance sheet of the community, which should be responsible for their maintenance and proper use.
The Commissioner is currently awaiting relevant clarifications from the Ministry of Education and Science.