The right to education in minority languages – Central European traditions and the case of Transcarpathia

This publication contains excerpts from laws that regulate the right to education in the mother tongue of minorities in the practice of those states to which the territory of modern Transcarpathia belonged from 1867 until the declaration of Ukraine’s independence. Also cited are legislative acts of sovereign Ukraine, which granted the right to representatives of national minorities to study in their mother tongue (first language). It also discusses how the language of education matters in neighboring countries, namely, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. The right to study in one’s mother tongue was provided by all the states that possessed the territory of modern Transcarpathia for 150 years. The first and only exception is Article 7 of the Law of Ukraine “On Education” of September 5, 2017, which maintains the right to receive education in the mother tongue for members of national minorities exclusively in preschool and primary education. Texts are provided in the original language and in English translation.

English version
Hungarian version
Ukrainian version