On December 20, the DonSUIA opened the first driving school for people with disabilities in Kryvorizhzhia which is the sixth one in Ukraine. Kryvyi Rih became the first non-regional city to provide such inclusive education.
The DonSUIA driving school for people with disabilities is a project of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine “Without Barriers” initiated by the First Lady Olena Zelenska and implemented with the partners’ support.
The event was attended by: Mykola Rudyk, head of the Main Service Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine; deputy head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration, Nadiia Zadorozhna; head of the RSC of the MSC of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia regions (branch of the MSC of the Ministry of Internal Affairs) Volodymyr Stepanov; Deputy Mayor of Kryvyi Rih Oleksandr Fishchenko; Yevhen Sytnychenko, head of the Kryvyi Rih district military administration.
Serhii Vitvitskyi, rector of the DonSUIA, opened the event and presented the barrier-free educational space: “Currently, in the conditions of war, the problem of training and retraining of drivers from among people with disabilities is gaining importance. We support the position of the administration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and are ready to provide the opportunities for high-quality education – all comfortable conditions have been created for people with disabilities. The educational process will be provided by highly qualified teachers and certified instructors. Practical training will be carried out in a car with adaptive manual control. We are grateful to the city administration who supported the project and helped to implement it.
Head of the Main Service Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, Mykola Rudyk, addressed the audience: “For Kryvyi Rih, the opening of such a driving school is a significant event. It meets all requirements and standards. I am sure that this location will have a wide demand – not only people with disabilities will study here, but also other residents of the city and the district.”
Deputy Mayor of Kryvyi Rih Oleksandr Fishchenko told about their assistance in opening a driving school for people with disabilities: “The Kryvyi Rih City Council allocated a subvention for the needs of the DonSUIA driving school, that is funds in the amount of 2,000,000 hryvnias for the purchase of a specialized car and the necessary things for equipping the driving school classrooms. We understand the importance of supporting those who return from the war and need such help to adapt to new conditions. Together we do something useful.”
It was due to the support of the city administration that a specialized passenger car “Skoda Octavia” with adaptive manual control, the “OSD D5000010 Jolly Standart” crawler stair lift for people with disabilities was purchased for the driving school, and the inclusive class of the driving school was equipped with modern teaching aids and a suitable bathroom.
People who have already obtained a driver’s license, but under certain circumstances have passed into the category of people with disabilities, as well as those who just start learning driving can study at the driving school. The training period is 2.5 months, the cost is UAH 6,000. There is a system of discounts for the military personnel, the staffers of the NPU, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and persons with disabilities.
The DonSUIA thanks the administration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the city administration for their support and assistance in the implementation of the project, and also invites everyone who wishes to study at the University driving schools – both in Kropyvnytskyi and from now on in Kryvyi Rih!
