Legal and Economic Components of Protection of Real Estate of Educational Institutions at the Regional Level in Conditions of Martial Law

The article elucidates the status and prospects of protecting real estate of educational institutions at the regional level under martial law. The article provides a comprehensive definition of the legal mechanisms for establishing a system for protecting the real estate of educational institutions at the regional level under martial law. It also elucidates the fundamental principles and components of the economic aspect of establishing such a system. Furthermore, it explores avenues for enhancing the administration and financing of educational institutions at the regional level under martial law. The legal mechanisms for protecting real estate of educational institutions under martial law are based on the norms of civil defence, safety of the educational environment and management of communal property; the key ones are: 1) taking a set of security measures (safe educational environment project); 2) providing real estate of educational institutions with a system of protective structures (shelters) in accordance with the requirements of the Code of Civil Protection of Ukraine; 3) management of municipal property through rational use, lease or re-profiling of property (including non-working institutions) in accordance with the decisions of local councils and executive committees; 4) recording damage to premises and territory of educational institutions for future compensation (drawing up inspection reports); 5) attracting extra-budgetary funds for the restoration of damaged buildings and infrastructure of educational institutions, which is regulated by special orders; 6) proper organisation of communication between the administration of the educational institution and local self-government bodies regarding ensuring the safety of educational institutions (Article 80 of the Law of Ukraine "On Education"). The economic component of protecting the property of educational institutions is highlighted, which constitutes a system of financial and economic measures aimed at preventing losses, modernising the infrastructure and optimising costs for maintaining municipal property of educational institutions; its main components are given: 1) cost optimisation (budgeting) – formation of the expenditure part of local budgets for operational financing of security units (security, video surveillance systems, fire safety); 2) property management – rational use, inventory, rental or transfer of unused premises by educational institutions to obtain additional revenues directed to the protection of facilities; 3) investment component – attraction of extrabudgetary funds, grants, assistance from local producers and volunteers to arrange safe conditions (shelter, fences); 4) legal and economic protection – creation of legal foundations for responsible storage of property on the balance sheet of institutions (operational management law); 5) financial sustainability – property insurance and implementation of energy-efficient technologies, which reduces maintenance costs. At the regional level, these measures are implemented by local governments through programmes for sustainable development and ensuring a safe educational space. It has been established that improving education administration at the regional level during the war hinges on digitalisation (the Automated Information Complex of Educational Management, or AICOM), optimising the network of institutions, increasing financial autonomy, and introducing specialised secondary education (12 years). The key areas are security (shelter), adapting to blended learning, and attracting international grants for restoration. Promising areas for improving the administration of the protection of the infrastructure of educational institutions at the regional level in wartime conditions: 1) digitalisation of management – active use of the AICOM analytical module to monitor the real situation in institutions; 2) restructuring of the network – creation of a capable network of lyceums that provide specialised secondary education (grades 10-12) in accordance with the requirements of the New Ukrainian School (NUS); 3) management of displaced HEIs – monitoring of activities and effective optimisation of the network of displaced higher education institutions; 4) security environment - priority arrangement of shelters for full-fledged continuous education and creation of a safe educational space. It is substantiated that promising areas for improving the financing of the system of protecting the infrastructure of educational institutions at the regional level in conditions of martial law are: 1) financial autonomy – expansion of the rights of higher education institutions to independently dispose of funds; 2) grant activities – attraction of extrabudgetary funds and international assistance to restore destroyed infrastructure; 3) flexible budgeting – reorientation of expenditures to ensure distance and blended learning (technical equipment); 4) monitoring of effectiveness – implementation of criteria for assessing the development of education, developed, for example, by the Decentralisation for the Development of Democratic Education (DECIDE) project for the effective use of the community budget. It is proven that the main challenges remain the reduction of expenditures and the need to modernise infrastructure in conditions of military operations.