Letter of requeston by the THPA on the curricula of educational programs for secondary schools with Hungarian

To Shkarlet S. M.
the acting minister of education and science of Ukraine

 

Letter of request

by the Transcarpathian Hungarian Pedagogical Association (THPA)

on the curricula of educational programs for secondary schools
with Hungarian as the language of instruction

Dear Serhiy Mykolayovych!

      

The THPA has received a letter of reply from the Directorate of School Education of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine regarding the request on the curricula for secondary schools with instruction in Hungarian. The THPA proposed a version of the curriculum for institutions with Hungarian language of instruction, which provides the opportunity to study the state and native languages ​​and literatures, as well as a foreign language in accordance with the state educational standards.

Existing educational programs for secondary schools with instruction in languages ​​of national minorities provide the right to study the native language and literature and/or a foreign language; the programs for specific subjects regulate the number of hours for the state, native and foreign languages, requirements for academic achievement in these subjects, but in the curriculum, it is not specified separately for each subject.

In order to ensure the opportunity of studying the state, native languages ​​and literatures, as well as a foreign language at the appropriate level in these institutions, and also all academic disciplines that are included in educational programs in accordance with the state standard, we ask for official permission to use curricula submitted by the THPA (attached). These plans meet the requirements of the State Sanitary Rules regarding the maximum allowable weekly workload for students.

The THPA emphasizes the importance of formal approval of curricula proposed by our organization to ensure the right to use them.

 

      Basic Elementary Education Curriculum for General Secondary Education Institutions with Instruction in the Language of a Native Indigenous Nation or National Minority (Hungarian)

 

Name of educational branch	Number of weekly hours (35 weeks/year)
	1 grade		2 grade		3 grade		4 grade		total
	Proposals		Proposals		Proposals		Proposals		Proposals
	Ministry of Education and Science	Hungarian Pedagogical Association	Ministry of Education and Science	Hungarian Pedagogical Association	Ministry of Education and Science	Hungarian Pedagogical Association	Ministry of Education and Science	Hungarian Pedagogical Association	Ministry of Education and Science	Hungarian Pedagogical Association
Invariant component
Language and literature, including:	11	12	11	12	11	12	11	12	44	48
Ukrainian language and literature	5	5	5	5	6	5	6	5	22	20
language and literature of the relevant indigenous nation or national minority and foreign-language education	6		6		5		5		22
language and literature of the relevant indigenous nation or national minority (Hungarian)		6		5		4		4		19
foreign language (for example, English, German etc.)		1		2		3		3		9
Mathematics	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	16	16
Nature	3	1	5	1	5	1	5	1	18	16
Social sciences and health		1		1		1		1
Civiс knowledge, history				1		1		1
Technology				1		1		1
IT						1		1
Arts	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	8	8
Physical education *	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	12	12
Variant component
Extra hours for the study of selected educational branches, subjects, one-on-one consultations and group classes	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	2	0
Number of weekly budget-funded teaching hours (excluding division into groups)	23	23	25	25	26	26	26	26	100	100
Maximum weekly/annual training load of the student	20/700	20/700	22/770	22/770	23/805	23/805	23/805	23/805	88/3080	88/3080

 

 

Berehove, July 06, 2020

 

                        President of the THPA                                                                                Ildikó Orosz

 

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To Shkarlet S. M.
the acting minister of education and science of Ukraine

 

Letter of request

by the Transcarpathian Hungarian Pedagogical Association (THPA)

Dear Serhiy Mykolayovych!

The THPA has received a response letter from the Directorate of School Education of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine regarding the request on the curricula for general secondary education institutions with Hungarian language of instruction.

The THPA requests you to reconsider our proposals in view of the ambiguity of certain provisions of the letter, as well as to provide specific answers.

1. We know that the State Standard of Primary Education is supplemented by an appendix on the requirements for compulsory achievements in Ukrainian language and literature for indigenous peoples and national minorities. However, these requirements do not differ in essence from the requirements for students for whom Ukrainian is their native language, their structure is almost the same. The THPA has repeatedly drawn the attention of the Ministry of Education and Science to this fact and suggested taking into account the European recommendations on language education. For indigenous peoples and national minorities, it was proposed to teach the Ukrainian language on the basis of competence, as in the case of learning a second language. There is a reference to this in your letter, but even a cursory analysis and comparison with the requirements for foreign language education indicates that no conceptual changes were made in the requirements.

Knowledge of the state language is mandatory for all citizens of Ukraine. We understand and support this. It should be noted that Ukrainian and Hungarian belong to different language families, which is why there are difficulties in learning Ukrainian at schools with Hungarian language of instruction. Requirements for compulsory learning outcomes for language and literature in Ukrainian and Hungarian schools do not differ significantly. Students in grades 1-2 of educational institutions with Hungarian language of instruction must already understand slow and clear speech, specific information in everyday context, ask questions, reproduce the main content of the oral message. However, they are not able to do this, because they do not have a proper vocabulary. According to these requirements, students in grades 3-4 must follow the basic rules of literary pronunciation, use appropriate verbal means in typical communication situations, recognize keywords and phrases to understand the main content of short, clear, simple messages, compare it with their own observations, life experience – these requirements are the same as the ones for students for whom Ukrainian is their native language. And we have given just a few examples to prove that the requirements for compulsory learning outcomes for national minorities are too high.

The THPA re-submits its proposals regarding the levels of acquisition of the state language by students for whom it is not their native language.

Based on the experience of European countries, the THPA believes that schools with languages ​​of instruction of national minorities can implement the study of the state language as follows:

• at level A1 - elementary level by the end of primary school,
• at level A2 - basic level by the end of primary school;
• at level B1 - intermediate I level by the end of high school.

The THPA proposes to take into account these principles during the development of standards, curricula for the study of the state language in secondary schools with the language of instruction of national minorities and indigenous peoples.

2. The gradual increase in the number of subjects taught in Ukrainian on the basis of the requirements of the Law of Ukraine On Secondary Education is essentially a radical narrowing of the right to education in one’s native language (for example, in the case of professional secondary schools, 60% of subjects are to be taught in the state language). All citizens of Ukraine should be provided with identical rights to study in their native language without significant restrictions on the educational programs of these institutions, as changing the language of instruction significantly affects the level of knowledge. Language should be taught in language classes, and other subjects should be taught in the language in which the student thinks.

Stating the list of discriminatory provisions in the mentioned letter, which have a catastrophic impact on the preservation and development of educational institutions with the language of instruction of indigenous peoples and national minorities, is not a solution to this problem. Therefore, we repeatedly appeal to the Ministry of Education and Science with a request to cancel the specified proportions, and to ensure the study of the state language by creating appropriate standards, educational programs, teaching aids, textbooks and appropriate methodological support.

The mandatory transition to study a certain discipline in another language without the right for students or their parents to choose, without taking into account the needs and opportunities of the students, is anti-democratic and, in fact, deprives the right to education in one’s native language.

The reference to the proposed model of Article 5 of the Law, which provides for the possibility of adding other subjects as the child is ready to study them in Ukrainian is declarative, as the pedagogical council of secondary school must independently determine these subjects and terms, which makes it impossible for the students to choose. From a pedagogical point of view, this is nonsense, because to determine the readiness of an individual judging by the level of the class is absurd and impossible.

3. The use of Hungarian educational books in the educational process, especially in spelling and reading, Hungarian language and literature as additional textbooks is extremely important to ensure teaching in educational institutions with Hungarian language of instruction. The use of such literature in senior classes is necessary because there is no additional methodological and didactic support for teaching these subjects in Hungarian, but the presence of such support is a basic condition for a quality education.
4. The THPA and the Transcarpathian Hungarian Institute named after Ferenc Rakoczi II have repeatedly proposed and reiterated their readiness to provide support, methodological and organizational aid for the implementation of the Independent Knowledge Assessment in Hungarian language and literature.
5. The THPA considers that before the introduction of Independent Knowledge Assessment in the language of instruction it is necessary to regulate the intermediary exams in the language of instruction. The right to pass these exams in the language of instruction should be the norm and an organic part of the educational process in secondary schools. Therefore, we ask you to include the language of instruction, in our case - Hungarian language and literature, in the list of compulsory subjects in which the intermediary exams are conducted.
6. Regarding the curricula of the secondary schools with the language of instruction of indigenous peoples and national minorities, there are a number of problems that violate the right to equal access to educational services for students of general secondary education with the language of instruction of national minorities and indigenous peoples. The THPA sent an additional request for official permission to use the curricula developed by the THPA, in order to ensure the right to use them during the preparation of educational programs. The specified curricula comply with the health and safety norms concerning the maximum workload of students. They separately indicate the hours for studying the state, native languages ​​and literatures, foreign languages ​​and all other disciplines, in accordance with the standard educational programs approved by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.

The THPA believes that the principles laid down in the new Ukrainian School program to ensure the quality implementation of state educational standards at all levels should be a basic right for all students, regardless of the language of instruction.

Berehove, July 06, 2020

 

            President of the THPA                                              Ildikó Orosz