Kyiv Schools Struggle to Maintain Heat Amid Power Plant Damage.

Learning in the Cold: The Situation in Kyiv's Schools

According to TSN.ua: Following damage to the city's Thermal Power Plant No. 4, classroom temperatures in Kyiv schools have dropped to a chilly 10°C (50°F). To keep education running, three districts of the capital are attempting to maintain in-person learning by deploying portable heaters and generators, aiming to create bearable conditions for students. This situation highlights the ongoing challenges Ukraine's infrastructure faces during the winter months.

District-by-District Breakdown

Dnipro District: As of February 18, 2026, 54 general secondary education institutions are operating in the district. Among them, 40 schools are functioning in-person, 5 use a hybrid model, and 9 are fully remote. Despite these varied formats, the average classroom temperature remains stubbornly low, not exceeding 10°C.

“Decisions on organizing the educational process are made by the pedagogical councils of educational institutions, taking into account weather conditions after informing parents about the temperature in the institution and surveying them about the preferred learning format,” noted Natalia Ivanina.

The district's reliance on only four modular boiler houses for its 54 schools raises serious questions about their adequacy under current conditions. It is evident that this limited heating infrastructure cannot provide sufficient warmth for all institutions, forcing schools to seek supplemental heat sources.

Darnytskyi District: Here, 63.4% of schools are conducting in-person classes, while 36.5% have switched to distance learning. This indicates that a significant portion of students are still attending physical classrooms, despite the difficult conditions.

Desnianskyi District: Educational processes resumed in this district on February 2, which may signal some improvement in heating and learning conditions. However, concerns over adequate temperatures persist.

The continuation of in-person and hybrid learning has been made possible only through technical measures implemented by school administrations. These efforts sustain the educational process against the backdrop of persistently low indoor temperatures. Nevertheless, the current conditions remain unsatisfactory for comfortable learning.

The widespread issue of cold classrooms in Kyiv underscores an urgent need to address energy supply and heating infrastructure. School administrations are compelled to find alternative solutions to ensure a basic learning environment, a situation that inevitably impacts educational quality and student well-being. During the cold season, finding effective ways to support the educational process—including modernizing heating systems and providing schools with necessary equipment—is critically important.