The Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Hungary and Romania have criticized of the language-related provisions of the new Ukrainian law on education, passed by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Sept. 5.
Relevant statements are published on the websites of the ministries.
“Ukraine has stabbed Hungary in the back by amending its education act, which strongly violates the rights of the Hungarian minority… It is shameful that a country that is striving to develop an increasingly close relationship with the European Union has made a decision that is in complete opposition to European values. It is unacceptable that Ukraine has stripped Hungarians of their right to study in their native language in schools and universities, and have only left them an opportunity to do so in nursery schools and primary schools,” the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in its statement.
In turn, the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that they met the news about the Ukrainian education reform “with concern” and considers that this law violates the rights of the Romanian minority.
“In this regard, the subject of teaching in the Romanian language in Ukraine will be included in the agenda of Secretary of State Victor Micula, who will go to Kyiv next week,” the Romanian Foreign Ministry said in turn.
As reported, the Verkhovna Rada on Sept. 5 introduced a 12-year education system at Ukrainian schools from 2027, approved a gradual increase in the minimum salaries of teachers to four subsistence minimums for able-bodied employees until 2023.
The law holds that the national language, Ukrainian, is the language of the educational process in educational institutions, but in accordance with the educational program, one or more subjects can be taught in two or more languages, namely in the national language, English, or other official languages of the European Union.
Persons belonging to national minorities are guaranteed the right to learn in their native language along with the Ukrainian language in separate classes (groups) of municipally owned institutions of preschool and primary education.
The law also proposes the allocation of funds worth 7 percent of GDP for education from the national budget, local budgets and sources not prohibited by law.
