Ombudsman: in schools, students and teachers must communicate exclusively in the Ukrainian language
Gorbachev insists on the adoption of a law in Ukraine that would oblige to communicate in school exclusively in the Ukrainian language, including during breaks.
Education ombudsman Serhiy Gorbachev said that a law should be passed in Ukraine that would oblige teachers and students to communicate exclusively in Ukrainian at school, including breaks. He raised this issue in interview “UP Life”, commenting on the results of the study, which showed that students and teachers began to use the Ukrainian language less in communication.
Gorbachev noted that the current law does not require school principals or teachers to communicate in the state language. They only have to own it, but communication is not mandatory. He emphasized the need to change this norm.
“According to the law, a school director or a teacher is not obliged to communicate in the state language. He must possess it, but not to communicate. I believe that this should be changed… In addition, when children and teachers communicate with each other in Russian during breaks, the legal question arises – is it part of the educational process? Article 6 of the educational process determines that it is an educational process. But then the question of teachers’ work time arises yes, it must be paid. The law must clearly state that communication in the educational institution must take place exclusively in the state language“, Gorbachev said.
Investments in Ukrainian-language content
The Ombudsman also emphasized the importance of the development of Ukrainian-language content in social networks, especially in TikTok, which is currently dominated by the Russian-language environment. He believes that Ukraine needs to invest heavily in the creation of Ukrainian-language content and block Russian-language content.
“In my opinion, Ukraine will lose the war in TikTok. Because the child will communicate in the language in everyday life that is familiar to him in his environment. Currently, the environment of TikTok is almost entirely Russian-speaking… Ukraine needs to invest huge funds and, I am not afraid of this word, block the entire Russian-language content on TikTok, as it was done with Russian sites in 2017. Of course, they will go through the VPN, but later on, all these resources will not have much motivation to develop in Ukraine.” , – said Gorbachev.
According to the ombudsman, it is necessary to implement a comprehensive approach to solving the problem. This includes not only legislative changes, but also active work on the creation of quality Ukrainian content that will be interesting for young people. It is also important to involve public organizations and volunteers in the promotion of the Ukrainian language in educational institutions and in society in general.
Providing a Ukrainian-speaking environment in schools and social networks will contribute to the preservation and development of the Ukrainian language, which is an important element of the national identity and cultural development of the country.
