The first state-run bilingual secondary school and gymnasium for Ukrainian children opened its doors in Budapest, Hungary, on 31 August, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reports.
According to the ministry, the educational institution in Budapest will provide instruction from grades 1 to 12 in Ukrainian, with Hungarian and English taught as foreign languages.
The Ukrainian society in Hungary will manage the school, the “House of Ukrainian Traditions,” and funded by the Hungarian state budget.
This development marks a significant step in addressing the educational needs of Ukrainian children abroad.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the opening is “an important step towards developing the Ukrainian global community.”
“The school in Budapest will not only help preserve Ukrainian identity but also assist our children in adapting to a foreign environment without losing their cultural roots,” he said.
The establishment of the school was agreed upon during a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Kyiv on 2 July.
During this meeting, the leaders also committed to working on a bilateral relations agreement to resolve issues between the two countries.
The language issue and the rights of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine have been among the most contentious topics between Kyiv and Budapest.
The dispute primarily centers around Ukraine’s education and language laws and their impact on the Hungarian minority in Ukraine, particularly in the Zakarpattia Oblast.
In 2017, Ukraine passed an education law that mandated increased use of the Ukrainian language in schools. Hungary saw this law as restricting the rights of ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine to study in their native language.
Hungary has blocked several Ukraine-NATO meetings, citing the need to protect the rights of the Hungarian minority.
On the other hand, Ukraine maintains that the law is necessary for national unity and to ensure that all citizens can speak the state language fluently. Ukrainian officials have argued that the law still allows for education in minority languages alongside Ukrainian.
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