Kremlin: new Ukrainian Education law poses a threat to Russian language
Russia has become the fifth country to dislike the new Ukrainian law "On Education."
"Although Russian is not mentioned in the law, it is obvious that the main goal of the current Ukrainian lawmakers is to trample the interests of millions of Russian-speaking citizens of Ukraine and to enforce a mono-ethnic language regime in a multi-ethnic state,” said a statement from the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Russia.
"We view this as an attempt by the Kyiv authorities, which came to power via a Maidan revolt, to bring about a complete Ukrainization of the country’s education system in direct violation of the Ukrainian Constitution and Kyiv’s international commitments to culture.”
Official authorities of Hungary, Romania and Moldova have expressed their concerns over the new Ukrainian law on education. Poland called on the consultations on its implementation at schools.
In reply, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman instructed Education and Science Minister of Ukraine Liliya Hrynevych and Foreign Affairs Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin to hold consultations with the ambassadors of the European Union and discuss language terms within the new wording of the Law of Ukraine "On Education."
The newer law provides that children who go to schools on September 1, 2018 will have an opportunity to study in their native language only in elementary school or the first four years. From the fifth grade, all subjects have to be taught in Ukrainian.