An open letter to Lilia Hrynevych, the Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, in connection to literature education in schools of national minorities

The Transcarpathian Hungarian Pedagogical Association (KMPSZ) is deeply concerned that alterations are intended to be made to the teaching of literature in the 10-11th forms of schools of national minorities.

Hungarian-language schools have years of experience in the teaching of integrated literature, which subject includes Hungarian and foreign (world) literature. We have the right textbooks from this subject, and the school libraries are fully equipped with the works of foreign authors translated into Hungarian. The majority of the lecturers have the degree required to teach the subject, or have undergone appropriate training, that ensures the quality of both Hungarian and foreign literature education. For this reason, the intended alterations to the curriculum and program for literature education in the 10-11th forms of schools of national minorities, according to which, from the following academic year, foreign literature should be taught within Ukrainian literature (in Ukrainian) and not in the language of teaching of the given national minority school, are incomprehensible to us.

Such an approach to the subject contradicts the many-year experience that underpins and reinforces the pedagogical theory of the educational process: everyone can properly master knowledge primarily in their mother tongue.

The KMPSZ supports the position of leading experts operating in the Ukrainian educational space on this issue (e. g. An open letter to Lilia Hrynevych, the Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, in connection to the draft curricula for the 10-11th forms, which was registered by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine on 19 January 2017 under number C-201/0). Below we would like to bring to your attention, among other things, the following matters:

1. The recommended curriculum samples for the 10-11th forms do not meet the 2011 State Standard of Primary and Secondary Education, in which the subjects providing literary education in the primary and upper classes are clearly defined – Ukrainian literature, foreign (world) literature, the literature of national minorities of Ukraine (among the listed ones there is no integrated (Ukrainian and foreign) literature.

2. The new State Standard for Primary and Secondary Education, the concept of profile education and the State Standard of Profile Education have not yet been developed, have not yet been debated in public, which documents are the basis for the development of new sample curricula (and not vice versa).

3. The mechanism of integrating “Ukrainian literature” and “Foreign literature” into one subject is problematic and debatable, scientifically unfounded, we do not have sufficient experience in this area, and any testing of the results has not been publicly debated – so many questions and problems arise in the possible implementation of this plan in national minority schools. There are no teaching aids for this subject, there are no proper translations of literary works in the libraries of the Hungarian-language schools, methodological literature is missing too.

4. The most important task of literary education is the formation of an individual’s personality, inscape, national consciousness, morality, helping to integrate the individual into society, and in these sample curricula for the 10-11th forms those subjects are given priority from which advanced level exams are to be taken, therefore in national minority schools not only the “Foreign literature” subject is in danger, but also the educational process, along with the Ukrainian schools.

In addition to the aforementioned, the KMPSZ considers unacceptable the separation of national and foreign literature in national minority schools, this means total discrimination for pupils and our community. The educational goals that the ministry stipulates in the planning of the integration of Ukrainian and foreign literature can be introduced into schools where students’ mother tongue is Ukrainian. These principles should be considered in the case of a pupil belonging to a national minority. We cannot contradict the statement that literature contributes to the formation of national consciousness, to the formation of personality, to the integration into society, but it is realized actually and exclusively only if education takes place in the mother tongue.

The KMPSZ expresses its incomprehension at the number of lessons, which are intended to teach literature in national minority schools: they provide 2 lessons for teaching Ukrainian literature, while they offer only 1 lesson for teaching national literature. This is also discriminatory and disrespectful to national minorities.
The KMPSZ asks to review the curricula and the programs from literature in national minority schools and consider the following suggestions:

1. The system of literary education currently in use in national minority schools should be retained, that is, in the case of Hungarian-language schools the teaching of “Literature (Hungarian and foreign)” in secondary schools should be permitted in Hungarian.

2. Provide the same number of lessons in “Literature (Hungarian and foreign)” that is prescribed for Ukrainian-language schools.

3. Ensure the development and publication of a sufficient number of textbooks for the teaching of this subject.

4. Please notify pedagogical organizations, including the KMPSZ, in advance, if you plan to make any changes to education in national minority schools.

Please review our proposals as a matter of urgency and consider these remarks in the future at the approval of the plans, especially in the field of literary education in national minority schools. The KMPSZ is ready to delegate experienced professionals and practitioners for the development of the concept, to assist in the design of plans and programs for the teaching of literature in national minority schools, including the teaching of foreign literature.

In the name of the KMPSZ 

Ildikó Orosz
the president of the KMPSZ