New Education Law Takes Effect

The new wording of the law on education takes effect.

The Verkhovna Rada adopted the law on September 5 and President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko signed the law on September 25, the Holos Ukrainy official newspaper of the parliament published the law on September 27, and it takes effect on the day following its publication, that is on September 28, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

According to the law, complete secondary education will take 12 years and consist of three levels: primary education (4 years), basic secondary education (5 years), and specialized secondary education (3 years), which is to be obtained in high school or professional education institutions.

Children can begin school at the age of 6 or 7.

The 12-year education system will be introduced on September 1, 2018, for primary education, on September 1, 2022, for basic secondary education, and on September 1, 2027 for specialized secondary education.

The document also provides for the introduction of the post of the institution of the educational ombudsman to ensure the proper conditions for the realization of the right to education.

The law provides for annual allocation of 7% of Ukraine's GDP for financing education instead of 10% of the gross national income (GNI).

The law envisages gradual increase in the official salary of teaching employees to three minimum wages before 2023.

Besides, according to the document, from September 2018, preschool and primary education can be implemented in the language of national minorities with parallel learning of the state language.

In secondary school, children will begin teaching in the state language, and the language of the national minority will be studied as a separate discipline.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, Hungary says it will block all steps that would represent a step forward in Ukraine's European integration process because of some provisions on language of teaching in the new law.

Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman had instructed Foreign Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin and Education and Science Minister Liliya Hrynevych to hold consultations with ambassadors of member states of the European Union on the language norms of the law on education.

Ukraine and heads of diplomatic missions have agreed a plan for implementation of language terms within the new wording of the Law of Ukraine On Education.

Ukraine is ready to send the law to the Council of Europe for assessment of the language provisions.

Ukraine intends to revise the language provisions of the new law on general secondary education and educational programs.

The Russian Federation considers that language provisions envisioned by the Law of Ukraine On Education infringe rights of Russian-speaking population in Ukraine.

Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, and Hungary have called on Ukraine not to enforce the new education law's provisions on the language of teaching.