Law of Ukraine “On Education”

The provisions of the law provide that from the 5th grade, children of national minorities must study in Ukrainian , and learn their native language as a separate discipline. Exceptions - the right to education, along with the state one , in the language of the corresponding indigenous people , is provided for the indigenous peoples of Ukraine (the concept is not spelled out in the legislation; according to the BBC , we are talking about Crimean Tatars ); some disciplines can be studied in the languages of the EU countries . Preparations for the implementation of the law will begin in the academic year 2018/2019, and the law will fully work on September 1, 2020 ^{[3] [4]} .

The protest against the adoption of the law was expressed by the Hungarian ^[5] Minister of Foreign Affairs ^[6] , the Minister for Hungarian Affairs Abroad ^[7] and the National Assembly ^[8] . The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Hungary has filed complaints with the OSCE , UN and the European Union ; Hungarian representatives followed threats to block further rapprochement between Ukraine and the EU within the framework of the Eastern Partnership program, initiate the review of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU and impose sanctions, a statement was made that Ukraine “could forget about European integration ” ^[9] . Criticism was also expressed by the Russian Foreign Ministry ^[10] and the President of Moldova ^[11] . The Romanian Parliament expressed concern ^[12] , and the Romanian President announced the cancellation of the official visit to Ukraine ^[13] . In a joint letter, the ministers of foreign affairs of Hungary, Greece , Romania , and Bulgaria expressed concern and deep regret over the adoption of the law; The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry also called in a representative of Ukraine to discuss this topic ^{[14] [15]} . However, in the future, during a visit to the southern regions of Ukraine, the chairman of the Bulgarian National Assembly stated that what he had already seen in Zaporizhia refutes all talk of discrimination against national minorities in Ukraine ^[16] ; the ambassador of Bulgaria to Ukraine also expressed a changed opinion: “We see that the Law on Education gives us new opportunities for our children to be fluent in both Ukrainian and Bulgarian” ^[17] . In turn, the adviser to the Minister of Education and Science of Bulgaria announced her country's readiness to help Ukraine in improving the qualifications of teachers of the Bulgarian language ^[18]

The Polish Deputy Foreign Minister commented on the law, saying, on the one hand, “we also understand the concerns of the Ukrainian side,” on the other, “we would also like to warn Ukraine that these changes do not conflict with Ukraine’s international obligations regarding languages ​​of national minorities” ^[19] . The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia stated that “it is interested in holding consultations with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and the Ministry of Education of Ukraine on the issues of this law (..) it is ready to use other instruments of bilateral relations to ensure the rights of national minorities, and so that there is no reduction in the existing educational standards of representatives of the Slovak national minorities in Ukraine ” ^[20] .

Support for the reform was expressed by the US Embassy ^[4] , the Minister of Education and Science of Latvia ^[21] and the World Congress of Ukrainians ^[22] .

On September 28, 2017, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine sent the law to the expertise of the Venice Commission ^[23] .

In October 2017, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe expressed concern about the articles of the law relating to education in minority languages, condemned the lack of genuine consultation with representatives of national minorities and expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that the law was not submitted to the Venice Commission before its adoption. The Assembly considered that the law does not maintain the necessary balance between the state language and minority languages. ^[24] According to Deutsche Welle , "the document speaks critically of Ukraine’s actions, speaks of violations by the law of the principle of good neighborliness laid down in the Framework Convention for the Protection of the Rights of National Minorities." ^[25]

Following a meeting of Ukrainian ministers of foreign affairs, education and science with the Hungarian Minister of Human Resources, the parties reported that the educational process in Hungarian schools would not change until the conclusions of the Venice Commission. ^{[26] [27]}

• Card of the bill on the official portal of the Supreme For the sake of Ukraine (Ukrainian)
• The Law of Ukraine “On Enlightenment” on the official portal of the Supreme For the sake of Ukraine (Ukrainian)
• Klimkin about the scandal with Hungary: Either we go for dialogue, or continue to work with abstract mythology , 112 Ukraine , 10/10/2017
• Poroshenko from the PACE rostrum explained how the law "On Education" will work , Ukrinform , 10/11/2017
• Grinevich called the date of negotiations between Ukraine and Hungary under the law "On Education" , 112 Ukraine , 09/26/2017
• The law "On Education" does not mean the closure of schools with the languages ​​of national minorities - Grinevich , UNIAN , 09/27/2017
• Comment: European slap in the face of Ukraine for education reform , Deutsche Welle , 10/13/2017
• The older brothers are in the past: Pavel Klimkin on the requirements for the law on education , European Truth , 12/11/2017