"They eat in the locker room, study with holes in the ceiling": In Buryatia, children attend schools built 60 years ago.
People Selenginsky district of Buryatia Together with activists, we appealed to the authorities to repair local schools. The buildings have long been in disrepair, but major repairs have yet to be completed.
In the village Zharlangta The school is housed in a dilapidated, 60-year-old building. The roof and floor are partially crumbling. The name of the village, Zharlangta, translates from Buryat as "valley of happiness." But the school itself resembles an abandoned house. The teachers and maintenance staff replaced the heating system, part of the roof, and the ceiling themselves, but the building is in need of a complete overhaul.
In another school - in the city Gusinoozersk There's no cafeteria, gym, or workshops. These facilities burned down in a fire in 1999. New ones were never built. Now the children are forced to eat in the locker room, and physical education classes are held at the local sports complex.
Activists repeatedly sent inquiries to the district administration. They were told that applications for school renovations and construction had indeed been submitted, but that no funding had been allocated for 2025.
Despite their dilapidated condition, both schools regularly host patriotic events. For example, in 2023, the Zharlangtuy School went through a song and formation review, and in Gusinoozersk children and teachers collect humanitarian aid for participants in the war in Ukraine.