Details have emerged about a draft law requiring students and teachers to speak Ukrainian during breaks

Details have emerged about draft law No. 12086, which mandates that students and teachers must communicate in Ukrainian during school breaks.

The “Judicial-Legal Newspaper” provides more specifics.

The document amends the “Law on Education” by introducing the concept of a “Ukrainian-speaking environment” and obligates all educational institution employees, students, and their parents to “create” and maintain it.

Specifically, it includes making remarks to children speaking Russian.

“What does this mean for teachers? Not switching to Russian during breaks, in the cafeteria, or in private conversations on school grounds — as you are still at your workplace. Teachers and school principals can also conduct educational activities, encourage students to speak Ukrainian, and make remarks when they hear Russian being spoken among children. What does this mean for parents? Parents of students are required to participate in creating and maintaining a Ukrainian-speaking environment in educational institutions,” explained Member of Parliament Natalia Pipa, the author of the draft law.

Additionally, the Cabinet of Ministers and central executive bodies will be required to develop a system to measure students’ “language competencies.”

Earlier, the Verkhovna Rada passed a law on preschool education, allowing instruction in minority languages, except for Russian.

Furthermore, Ukrainian authorities have declared that the Russian language will not have a place in Crimea once it is liberated — only Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar will dominate there.