Prague wants to transform the Vysočina building of Komerční banka into a school
“The influx of refugees is the largest in Prague and the Central Bohemian Region. New schools will need to be set up in each district. The existing capacity will not take it anywhere in any case. This is also the reason why a month ago I started looking for the possibility of using this building for school facilities, “said the mayor of Prague 9, Tomáš Portlík (ODS).
“Our idea is that we want to set up facilities for teaching Ukrainian children in the building. The lesson from the crisis situation, the covid pandemic, is that other school absences immediately have negative effects on children, “he added.
The administrative building near the Vysočanská metro station was recently bought by the developer Central Group with the intention of renting it for five years, then demolishing it and building apartments on the spot. The company, meanwhile, has agreed with the municipality to use the building free of charge as an assistance center for Ukrainian refugees, who were previously in the Congress Center. The agreement is currently valid for half a year.
“A few years before obtaining all the necessary permits for the construction of flats, the building could then serve as a school for the needs of Prague 9,” said Central Group owner Dušan Kunovský.
According to him, in the planned demolition of the problem, the school should operate temporarily, with the children returning to their homeland in pairs, or after mastering the language, gradually moving to Czech schools. However, it depends on the Ministry of Education, which is in charge of the concept of education for compulsory Ukrainians.
![Ukrainian refugees are putting pressure on real estate markets in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic Ukrainian refugees are putting pressure on real estate markets in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic](https://img.cncenter.cz/foto/byty-okna-bydleni-reality/MzMweDE5NS9jZW50ZXIvbWlkZGxlL2ZpbHRlcnM6cXVhbGl0eSg4NSk6bm9fdXBzY2FsZSgpL2ltZw/7616660.jpg?v=0&st=qEdLBBoI8PDBfYZ6szFeQ5tePerlxMyxDIi57_24Mao&ts=1600812000&e=0)
School buildings meet a number of strict standards and rebuilding an office building into a school is not easy. “We are working with the Ministry of Regional Development to set up a law that will allow temporary constructions to be approved quickly. These are not only new temporary constructions, but also the possibility of quick re-approvals, “said Petr Hlaváček, Prague’s Deputy for Regional Development (TOP 09). “Reconstruction of the former Komerční banka office building into a school facility was normally very difficult, if not impossible,” he added.
The head of the local development department, Ivan Bartoš (Pirates), confirms that this is a problem that must be solved not only because of Prague. “I will have to build new schools,” the minister said. “Many schools are unsatisfactory in terms of new standards, whether it is artificial lighting or daylighting. But we have many renovated buildings that the school cannot be in because of these standards, even though they are exactly the same buildings that the schools have been in for years. We have to think about that, “added Bartoš, according to whom close cooperation with the Ministry of Education is necessary.
The government expects the need for integration of about 125,000 children, which should cost 12.3 billion crowns. If a thousand 250 children came to the Czech Republic from Ukraine, the current capacity of schools would no longer be enough. According to the cabinet, the state would then have to start setting up schools directly in emergency hostels for refugees.
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