The website of the Council of Europe published the findings of the Venice Commission on the language norms of the new Ukrainian law on education. The Commission recognized the right of Ukraine to strengthen the state language. "However, strong criticism within the country and beyond its limits, especially concerning the provisions limiting education in minority languages, seems justified for various reasons," the commission's findings. Regulating the language norms, article 7 of the law, as noted by the Venice Commission, is very different from the project, which consulted with minorities. "It contains important ambiguities and does not appear to provide the necessary guidance on the application of international and constitutional obligations of the country. The exact amount of guarantees for education in minority languages, mainly limited to primary education, is not clear, "it was informed.. The Venice Commission believes that the law "allows a radical change in the old language regime to a system aimed at the mandatory use of the Ukrainian language as a language of education". "This can lead to the fact that persons belonging to national minorities will have less opportunity to learn in their own languages. In addition, a short time for the implementation of the new rules raises serious concerns about the quality of education, "the commission noted.. However, VC experts note that article 7 of the law does not specify the conditions for its implementation, which leaves room for such interpretation and application of new norms that are more in line with the protection of national minorities. "The Venice Commission welcomes the readiness of the Ukrainian authorities to use such opportunities, for example, by training in the primary schools of most subjects in minority languages ??in special classes for national minorities," the findings. With regard to secondary education, the commission also noted the possibility of flexible application of the language norms of the law. "The current Education Act is a framework law, and a future law on secondary education, which is yet to be adopted, can provide more detailed and balanced solutions to many problems. In addition, Article 7 provides a legal basis for the teaching of other subjects in official EU languages ??such as Bulgarian, Hungarian, Romanian and Polish, "it was reported.. "Nevertheless, the new Law does not provide solutions for languages ??that are not official languages ??of the EU, in particular for the Russian as the most widely used non-state language. A less favorable attitude towards these languages ??is difficult to justify and, therefore, raises the problem of discrimination. The correct decision will be to amend the article 7 and replace this provision with a more balanced one, "experts of the VC noted.. The Venice Commission recommends that a sufficient level of teaching be provided in the official languages ??of the European Union for the relevant minorities; continue to provide a sufficient share of education in minority languages ??at the primary and secondary levels in addition to teaching the state language; to improve the quality of teaching Ukrainian as a state language; to amend the law on education in order to provide more time for gradual reform; to free private schools from new language requirements; to enter during the implementation of the law into a new dialogue with all interested parties; ensure that the implementation of the law does not jeopardize the preservation of the cultural heritage of minorities and the continuity of minority language education in traditional schools. The Venice Commission assessed the new law in the light of European and international commitments accepted by Ukraine, including the conformity of the Council of Europe Framework Convention on the Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In some cases, referring to the Constitution of Ukraine, the commission emphasizes that it is within the competence of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine to assess this issue.

Recall, on September 5 the Verkhovna Rada adopted 255 votes to pass the law "On Education", which, in particular, regulates the use of the Ukrainian language in the field of education. September 28 the law came into force. The law provides that children who go to schools on September 1, 2018, will have the opportunity to learn in their native language only in primary school - the first four years. From the fifth grade, subjects should be taught in Ukrainian. The official bodies of a number of countries that have a large diaspora in Ukraine have protested because of this rule. Source: Left Bank.