Happy holiday, the International Mother Language Day! Chairman of the State Television and Radio Committee of Ukraine Oleksandr Kurdinovych and Minister of Culture Mykhailo Kulyniak appealed to the general public and the media on February 17 to celebrate and highlight the holiday as an event that “promotes the need to strengthen the state-building function of the Ukrainian language as well as the free development and protection of minority languages.” But the Ukrainian Ministry of Education, Science, Youth, and Sports one, reacted to the holiday in a peculiar way, releasing a “great” news: they were planning to cut the language and history classes in secondary schools soon. Dmytro Tabachnyk made comments for the Segodnya newspaper emphasizing his ministry’s non-involvement with the project (as of yet) and naming “a group of researchers at the National Academy of Pedagogical Sciences” as the project’s developers [?! – Ed.], but still, he confirmed that the some history and Ukrainian language classes may be cut to free time for information technology and English. “This is to be done for two reasons. First, to find time for one more information technology class a week, so as to ensure advanced learning of this subject. The second reason is the plans to introduce the second foreign language classes,” Tabachnyk said. “We need additional time to teach information technology and second foreign language, but adding 9 to 10 more classes a week would be a breach of medical regulations. Therefore, the ministry may be forced to cut some classes,” he said.
Lilia HRYNEVYCH, coordinator of Knowledge Society projects for the Front of Changes party:
“Unfortunately, the Ministry of Education is now functioning in great secrecy. Previously, such documents were subject to public debate because it is an extraordinary document which identifies priorities in the educational process. Unfortunately, the fact that we have just obtained information to be able to discuss it (although there is still no official information on the ministry’s website, and the status of the document is not clear), suggests the ministry is concealing its actions from the public. The document published by Dzerkalo Tyzhnia proposes cutting the Ukrainian language classes, on average by 3.5 academic hours a week. The Ukrainian literature classes are to be cut by 1.5 hours as well. It also proposes cutting history classes by 1 hour, and there are allegations that the Ukrainian history course is to be integrated into the world history one. In my opinion, it is a very wrong policy. It is the policy of curtailing Ukrainian identity formation, because the pupil’s national identity is built through language, literature, and history. All countries pay much attention to it. For example, the national languages and histories are given much attention in Russia and in European countries alike. Of course, should the document be approved by the ministry, it would mean that they continue on the path of de-Ukrainization in education. Respect for the country and the Ukrainian culture grows from an opportunity to learn the Ukrainian language and literature, and the history of Ukraine so that they are interesting, with good textbooks and well-trained teachers helping students. Instead of focusing its efforts on improving teaching of these subjects, the Ministry of Education is doing the opposite thing, cutting these classes.”
