Draft bill #10201 of October 30, 2023
Sponsors: a group of 23 MPs from the Servant of the People faction with Serhii Babak as the first signatory
Status: sent for review to the dedicated parliamentary committee
Who is affected: schoolchildren — representatives of national minorities, teachers and heads of national minorities secondary education establishments, and the Ministry of Education and Science
Summary: the requirement to gradually increase the number of subjects taught in the state language will not apply to academic programs for schoolchildren — representatives of national minorities whose languages are official languages of the EU and who started their education before September 1, 2018.
What is wrong:
- the state violates the right of schoolchildren — representatives of national minorities to learn the state language at a level necessary for higher education and admission to qualified work. Graduates of national minorities schools will have difficulties integrating into society due to inadequate knowledge of the language, which will promote their isolation and push for emigration to countries whose languages they speak
- the fact that such a bill was submitted indicates that the state failed to properly implement its educational policy: did not hire a sufficient number of teachers with proper qualifications and did not print textbooks for the implementation of the law on ensuring the functioning of the state language.
Background information: the increase in the number of subjects taught in Ukrainian will be postponed for the second time. The first time it was done by a law passed in June 2023.
Additional information: article by Mariia Ocheretiana Law on National Minorities as a Bone of Contention. Why does it provoke conflicts?