Ukrainian language will be studied optionally in Sevastopol schools
Sevastopol, May 05 (Navigator, Olga Nikolaeva) – From the 2014-2015 academic year, Sevastopol schoolchildren will study the Ukrainian language at the request of their parents as an elective or a special course.
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This was stated by the Deputy Head of the Sevastopol Education Department Natalya Zhuravleva.
“If parents write a statement that they want their child to study Ukrainian, then the director is obliged to ensure this right. If the whole class writes a statement, then the corresponding subject is introduced. If there are fewer people interested, then Ukrainian is studied as an elective or a special course,” the official said.
Thus, the issue of compulsory study of the Ukrainian language and Ukrainian literature from September 1, which has caused a lot of noise in the city, may have been resolved.
This is exactly the decision made on May 16 by the head of the education department, Viktor Oganesyan (who is also the chairman of the Sevastopol branch of the A Just Russia party), arguing the decision with concerns about the employment of 280 Ukrainian language teachers, and the fact that Ukrainian is one of the three state languages of Crimea.
After this, an initiative group of parents of Sevastopol students appealed to the President of Russia and the relevant departments of the Russian Federation with a request to influence the local education department to cancel the decision that violates the Law on Education of the Russian Federation.
Parents proceed from the fact that in Sevastopol, as a subject of the Federation, there is only one state language - Russian, and believe that the Ukrainian language should be studied optionally through the regional component of state general education.
The parents asked the same question to Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on May 25 during his visit to Sevastopol.
“If there is a need to study Ukrainian, Belarusian, Polish, whatever, then parents turn to the school management, and this decision is made. If there is no such need, then, accordingly, there is no order for such a language,” he replied.
However, parents are now concerned that the results of surveys in schools regarding the desire of their children to receive lessons in the Ukrainian language and literature may be distorted by school administrations in order to preserve teaching.
Ukrainian language will be taught as an optional course in Sevastopol schools.