Dagestan: Utsmiyurt villagers fear to send children to school because of health threats

Yesterday, on September 4, residents of the village of Utsmiyurt of the Babayurt District of Dagestan blocked the highway Kizlyar-Babayurt, demanding to build a new school in the village. According to the pupils' parents, the modular school, in which their children are studying, is not suitable for lessons. The highway was unblocked; however, the today's lessons in school were cancelled.

The old school in the village of Utsmiyurt was recognized to be a dilapidated and closed five years ago. Pupils of primary forms were carried on buses and Gazel vans to the neighbouring village of Khammatyurt, which is 10 kilometres from the village of Utsmiyurt. Pupils of senior forms were studying in the school canteen.

At the same time, five years ago, the construction of a new building of 640 training places was started. In 2008, 3 million roubles were allocated for the construction of the object; in 2009, 2678 million roubles were allocated, and all that money went to the zero cycle, the foundation. In 2010, no money was allocated, and the construction was suspended. The republic's government decided to purchase for pupils of the village of Utsmiyurt modular units train cars and teachers began to conduct lessons there. However, last year, parents refused to let their children go to that school. In September, they gathered for a rally and stated that the train cars had a heavy smell that made their children ill. Throughout September, until the heat subsided, no lessons were conducted at the school.

According to Nazirbeg Radjabov, Principal of the Utsmiyurt school, the yesterday's meeting lasted for about two hours. At 12:00 a.m., the highway was unblocked. "The parents blocked the highway at about 10:30 a.m. Soon, Adilkhan Ganakaev, the head of the district administration, came, and he invited representatives of the protesters to his administration, and a conversation took place there. It was decided that the construction would be continued, and so far, air conditioners would be installed in the modular school. Today, two air conditioners were brought, and at present, they are being installed. When they will be operating, the parents will be able to check the atmosphere in the class and decide whether their children will go to school or not," Nazirbeg Radjabov stated.

The situation with the Utsmiyurt school was discussed at the joint meeting of the Security Council, the Antiterrorist Commission and the Operation Headquarters of the Republic of Dagestan, which was held on August 22 and was chaired by Magomedsalam Magomedov, President of Dagestan.

The Dagestani President ordered to conduct a formal inspection of the educational institution. According to the website of the Prosecutor's Office of Dagestan, "by the initiative of the President of the Republic of Dagestan, the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic together with representatives of the regulatory authorities conducted an on-site inspection of observance of the legislation on sanitary and epidemiological safety, fire safety, climate parameters, state of background radiation, and light level at the secondary school in the village of Utsmiyurt of the Babayurt District. During the inspection, no breaches of the law were revealed."