The responsible secretary of the inter-regional Union “Romanian Community in Ukraine”, Aurica Bojescu, claims that through the steps taken, teaching in schools in Romanian communities could be continued in Romanian.
There were tensions between Ukraine and the surrounding states related to learning in the mother tongue PHOTO Archive
“Ukraine has taken the first important steps in amending legislation for minorities, including in the field of education, so that teaching in schools in Romanian communities can be continued in Romanian, as it has been for hundreds of years“, Aurica Bojescu, the responsible secretary of the inter-regional Union “Romanian Community in Ukraine”, declared for Agerpres.
According to the cited source, the Ukrainian Parliament repealed the legislative provisions that required schools with teaching in the language of minorities, including those in Romanian, to gradually introduce the teaching of basic subjects in Ukrainian, from 20% of the total class hours in the 5th grade up to 60% in the 11th grade.
Aurica Bojescu shows that the legislative changes occurred mainly as a result of the joint meeting between the governments of Romania and Ukraine, which took place in Kyiv on October 18, 2023, but also under pressure from the European Commission, which is negotiating with Ukraine to join the European Union, but and the Council of Europe.
However, the responsible secretary of the inter-regional Union “Romanian Community of Ukraine”, who participated in the discussions with the European Union Commissioner for Enlargement, but also in the negotiations with the Ministry of Education in Kyiv and the State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience from the Kyiv Government, believes that the basic normative act on education still needs some corrections, in the interest of the Romanian community in Ukraine, which wants to preserve education in the Romanian language in schools.
What should be reviewed
One of the articles that must be revised is related to teaching in the minority language at the level of educational units, not at the class level, and the return to the status of schools with teaching in the Romanian language, as it was until 2017. The second aspect regards the Baccalaureate in minority languages, respectively in Romanian.
“We still have no changes to Article 7 of the Law on Education, as stipulated by the Constitution of Ukraine, where the education process in the mother tongue in schools is guaranteed. We still ask ourselves why in our villages, in the localities where we have schools, teaching should not be guaranteed in the school, but only in the classrooms. We continue to discuss with the Ministry of Education, with the Department for Ethnopolitics of the Government concretely for these changes. (…) The most important point that has not yet been achieved is the Baccalaureate, which is not allowed in the language in which it was learned, as provided for in Romania. We don't even have a Baccalaureate in the mother tongue, which means that the motivation to learn in the mother tongue, in Romanian, is lacking. If in all years the students learn in Romanian, they should take the Baccalaureate also in Romanian. Now, the Baccalaureate in Romanian is only allowed for those who went to school until September 1, 2018“, added Aurica Bojescu.
It claims that the entire Romanian community has “constructive” claims, which are based on the provisions of the Ukrainian Constitution, but also on international legal norms regarding minorities.
