First bell rings in Ukraine’s schools

KYIV – Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, a former world boxing champion, opened an upgraded primary school called “Intellect” in the Darnytsia district of Kyiv to mark the beginning of the academic year on September 3. The school, which has some 1,500 pupils, is located on the east bank of the Dnipro River. The learning center is equipped with interactive displays that allow video screening instead of chalkboards, and each teacher is equipped with a computer. Special foreign-language learning classrooms are in place, as well as studios for dance, music and song. The school is also energy efficient with its own autonomous heating system. Overall, 25 such modernized schools were opened nationwide, President Petro Poroshenko said while attending another back-to-school event in Kyiv. More than 16,000 primary schools currently offer education throughout the country to nearly 4 million pupils. About 450,000 are first graders who will complete 12 grades before graduation. Of the 1 billion hrv ($357 million U.S.) that the Education Ministry allocated to local governments to build or modernize schools, only 44 percent has been used, the government body said. Kyiv allocated $5.3 million to the effort, or $225 per primary school student.