Language ombudswoman fines capital lyceum teacher for violating language law
State Language Protection Commissioner Olena Ivanovska has issued a resolution imposing an administrative penalty in the form of a fine of UAH 3,400 on a teacher at one of the capital’s lyceums for violating the requirements of the law "On Ensuring the Functioning of Ukrainian as the State Language."
"The basis for exercising state control was an appeal from a student’s father, a veteran of the Russian-Ukrainian war, who reported a violation of children’s language rights in the educational process (during a 1st-grade class, a cartoon fragment was used with a Russian-language soundtrack). During the review of the state control materials, the teacher admitted the fact of the violation," the Ombudsman’s Secretariat reported.
They emphasized that using the language of Russia, particularly in education, is a gross and unacceptable violation of the law.
"First-grade students should not have to defend their language rights from adults. It is the duty of the educational institution, administration, and teaching staff to ensure the educational process is conducted in the state language," the agency added.
Based on the review of the materials, an act and a protocol on an administrative offense were drawn up, and the commissioner applied an administrative penalty to the teacher in the form of a fine of UAH 3,400.