Ukraine likely to amend controversial education law after int'l consultations

Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-29 00:23:05|Editor: yan
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KIEV, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine is likely to amend its newly-adopted controversial education law after consultations with foreign countries and the Council of Europe, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said here on Thursday.

"The results of negotiations with our partners can be taken into account in the new version of the law," Poroshenko said during a meeting with education workers.

The president pledged to guarantee the continued development of the languages of national minorities in Ukraine, while emphasizing it is also important for Ukrainian students to speak the state language fluently.

Earlier this week, Poroshenko signed the new education law, which makes Ukrainian the first language in all public secondary and high schools.

The legislation allows students to learn other languages as a separate school subject.

A string of countries, which have large ethnic groups in Ukraine, have voiced their worries that the legislation would deprive the national minorities of the right to learn in their mother tongue.

In particular, Hungary, Romania, Poland and Russia have expressed concerns over the bill, which is set to enter into force in 2020.

Currently, Ukrainian students in public schools are allowed to choose between being taught in Ukrainian or in another language if the school offers the option.

According to the Ministry of Education and Science, there are 735 schools across Ukraine which provide lessons in the languages of the national minorities for about 400,000 students.

Ukraine has submitted the new education law to the Council of Europe for consideration and initiated negotiations with some of the related countries.

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