Education reform in Ukraine: languages and minorities

Ukrainian Institute for Analysis and Management of Policy

November 2017

Kiev

Price of reforms. Education. Languages

Fundamental LawsExcerpts from the Constitution of Ukraine

• Article 10. The state language in Ukraine is the Ukrainian language. [...] In

Ukraine is guaranteed free development, use and protection of Russian,

other languages of national minorities of Ukraine. The state promotes the

study of languages of international communication.

• Article 22. The human rights and freedoms, enshrined in this Constitution,

are not exhaustive. Constitutional rights and freedoms are guaranteed and

can not be abolished. When adopting new laws or amending the existing

laws, the content and scope of existing rights and freedoms shall not be

narrowed.

Fundamental LawsEndurances of the Constitution of Ukraine

• Article 24. Citizens have equal constitutional rights and freedoms and are equal before

the law. There can be no privileges or restrictions on grounds of race, color, political,

religious or other convictions, sex, ethnic or social origin, property status, place of

residence, language or other grounds.

• Article 53. Everyone has the right to education. Complete general secondary education is

compulsory. The state ensures the availability and free of preschool, full general secondary,

vocational and higher education in state and municipal educational institutions; [...].

Citizens belonging to national minorities are guaranteed, in accordance with the law, the

right to learn in their native language or to study their native language in state and

municipal educational institutions or through national cultural societies.

The United Nations Convention against Discrimination in Education

• 1. For the purposes of this Convention, the term `discrimination' includes any

distinction, exclusion, limitation or preference which, being based on […] language,

[…] national or social origin[…] in particular:

(a) Of depriving any person or group of persons of access to education of any type

or at any level;

(b) Of limiting any person or group of persons to education of an inferior standard;

Ethnic and languages groups of Ukraine Ethnicgroups

census 2001

Number %

Ukrainians 37,541,693 77.5

Russians 8,334,141 17.2

Moldavians / Romanians

409,608 0.8

Belarusians 275,763 0.6

Crimean Tatars 248,193 0.5

Bulgarians 204,574 0.4

Hungarians 156,566 0.3

Poles 144,130 0.3

Jews 103,591 0.2

Armenians 99,894 0.2

Greeks 91,548 0.2

Tatars 73,304 0.2

Romani 47,587 0.1

Languagesgroups

census 2001

Number %

Ukrainian 32,577,468 67.5

Russian 14,273,670 29.5

Moldavian / Romanian

319,646 0.67

Crimean Tatar 228,373 0.47

Hungarian 149,431 0.31

Bulgarian 131,237 0.27

Belarusian 54,573 0.11

Armenian 50,363 0.1

Tatar 25,770 0.05

Romani 21,266 0.04

Polish 18,660 0.07

Jews 3213 0.007

Prohibition on studying and teaching in the languages of national minorities in Ukraine

• Actual cancellation of studying in Ukraine in the languages of national minorities;

• Education in the languages of national minorities is possible only in the initial

preschool education in separate classes (groups);

• Obtaining general secondary education in the languages of national minorities is

possible until 2020, after which this opportunity is abolished;

• Indigenous peoples are allowed to have separate classes (groups) for teaching

and learning their languages;

• The law declares guarantees for the study of languages of international

communication, in particular English (but, for some reason, not Russian).

Education in Ukraine in the languages of national minorities

• In the languages of national minorities, about 400 thousand people study in 750 educational

institutions;

• More than 355 thousand pupils are studying in Russian in 581 Russian schools;

• It was Russian-language schools that were most often closed in Ukraine. So, if there were 1555 Russian

schools in Ukraine, then by 2017 their number has decreased 3 times - to 581;

• The number of schools in which the education took place in Ukrainian and Russian has decreased from

2121 schools in 2004 to 542 in 2017;

• The number of pupils studying in Russian has decreased from 1.2 million in 2004 up to 355 thousand in

2017;

• The number of pupils studying Russian has dropped from 1.5 million in 2004 up to 919 thousand in

2017;


• 16 thousand children are studying in 75 Romanian schools.

• In the year 2004 In Ukraine there were 95 Romanian schools, 26,000 pupils

were trained in them.

• The number of schools where the education took place in Ukrainian and

Romanian languages increased from 8 schools in 2004. up to 20 in 2017.

• The number of pupils studying Romanian has decreased from 174 in 2004.

up to 4 thousand in 2017.


• 16 thousand children are studying in 71 Hungarian schools;

• In the year 2004 in Ukraine there were 74 Hungarian schools, 19

thousand pupils were studying in them;

• The number of schools in which education took place in Ukrainian

and Hungarian has decreased from 30 schools in 2004 up to 26 in 2017;

• The number of students studying Hungarian has decreased from 1454

in 2004 up to 1110 in 2017.


• 1785 children are studying in 5 Polish schools.

• In the year 2004 In Ukraine there were 5 Polish schools, 1418 pupils were

studying in them.

• The number of schools in which education took place in Ukrainian and

Polish languages decreased from 2 schools in 2004. up to 1 in 2017.

• The number of pupils studying Polish language increased from 5533 in

2004. up to 45.9 thousand in 2017;


• 2693 students go to 3 Moldovan schools.• In the year 2004 In Ukraine there were 8 Moldovan schools, 6128pupils were studying there.• The number of schools in which education took place in Ukrainianand Moldovan languages increased from 4 schools in 2004. up to 10 in2017.• The number of pupils studying Moldovan language increased from1335 in 2004. up to 2474 in 2017.


• At the moment, there is not a single Crimean Tatar school in Ukraine.

• In the year 2004 there were 14 of them, 4797 pupils were studying in

them.

• By 2014 in Ukraine there were 15 Crimean Tatar schools, in which there

were 5,551 children.

• The Crimean Tatar language in 2004 studied 26.5 thousand students.

• By 2014 they remained 12.7 thousand, and as of 2017. - only 340 pupils.

Russian Romanian Hungarian Polish Moldavian

language

Crimean Tatar

language

The number of

students

studying in the

national

minority

language

2004 1,2 million 26 thousands 19 thousands 1418 6128 4797

2017 355 thousands 16 thousands 16 thousands 1785 2693 0 (2014р. –

5551)

Number of

schools with

language

minority

education

2004 1 555 95 74 5 8 14

2017 581 75 71 5 3 0 (2014р. – 15)

The number of

students

studying the

language of the

minority

2004 1,5 million 174 1454 5533 1335 26,5 thousands

2017 919 thousands 4 thousands 1110 45,9 thousands 2474 2014р. – 12,7

thousands

2017р. – 340

Number of

schools in

which education

takes place in 2

languages

2004 2121 8 30 2 4 0

2017 542 20 26 1 10 0

Prohibition on studying and teaching in the languages of national minorities

• The Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the new law oneducation "shame and disgrace" and prevent the implementation ofimportant for Ukraine affairs in the international arena;• The President of Romania canceled the visit to Ukraine because of thelaw on education;• The President of Moldova: "The implementation of the new law willlead to the denationalization of the Moldovan community in Ukraine."

Contact Information

The authors of the study:

• Ruslan BORTNIK

• Nikolay SPIRIDONOV

• Denis GAEVSKY

• Maxim SEMENOV

Director

Ruslan O. Bortnik

Tel .: +380 93 757 75 65

[email protected]

http://uiamp.org.ua

Education reform in Ukraine: languages and minorities

Education

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