The opening of the reconstructed secondary school in the Donetsk Oblast within the standards of the New Educational Space is another step towards modern educational infrastructure, innovative teaching methods and, generally, the new quality of education, said Hennadii Zubko, Vice Prime Minister – Minister of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Communal Services, at the opening of the Illinivka specialised school of the 1^st-3^rd degrees in the Kostyantynivka Rayon of the Donetsk Oblast.

“The New Educational Space is no longer a design project on the wall in my office, and not just a guide with NES recommendations developed by MinRegion. It is a real implemented project of a modern Ukrainian-language school in the Donetsk Oblast with children already running in its premises and the future of Ukraine as an independent European state growing! To help local hromadas, MinRegion has developed NES standards. These are recommendations hromadas can immediately use – to include in their strategies for implementing infrastructure projects. And this is not just about construction works. We want to create a multifunctional educational space with a vivid design in the modern style of classrooms, corridors, assembly and sports halls, recreation areas, canteen, library, etc. In addition, and this is important, our Concept of the New Educational Space contains a mandatory element of inclusiveness, conditions for education of special children,” said Hennadii Zubko.

The Vice Prime Minister emphasised that education of children from the east of Ukraine should be as competitive as in the central or western Ukraine, as well as the countries of Eastern Europe. “Today, we are implementing decentralisation in the education sector and building a New Educational Space in hromadas, including provision of school buses, built and repaired roads, high-quality school equipment and sport infrastructure around,” he said.

The Illinivka specialised school of the 1^st-3^rd degrees was determined as the hub educational institution of the Kostyantynivka Rayon. The school has a Ukrainian-language status. Its designed capacity envisages 440 pupils. The total area of ​​all premises is 4143 m2. There are currently 351 pupils studying in 11 forms and 35 teachers working. The total cost of works on the projects is UAH 23 858745.59 (funds of local budgets of the oblast settlements, where the state authorities temporarily do not exercise their powers). The department of education and science purchased multimedia equipment and furniture for UAH 2 million. UAH 313.6 thousand was allocated from the rayon budget to purchase the equipment, furniture and for the territory arrangement. In 2016, the Illinivka school won the competition for the best hub school project, receiving from the state budget UAH 4351.8 thousand for the acquisition of educational facilities, computer complexes, multimedia equipment, and implementation of energy-saving technologies.

Hennadii Zubko noted that there are 8 hub schools in the oblast, and 2 of them are functioning in the amalgamated hromadas. He also said that within the framework of the State Fund for Regional Development UAH 279.1 million have been allocated to the Donetsk Oblast in 2017 for 35 investment programmes and projects. These are projects in the field of education, restoration of life support systems (gas, water supply and sewage), development of sports, road transport infrastructure, healthcare and social protection. “Our goal is to restore Donbas and provide citizens with the proper quality of services in various fields using all the tools given by decentralisation,” the government official said.