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The bill guarantees the enrollment of children in primary school without any competition, and the institution should be geographically accessible to children regardless of their social status or place of birth.
The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, has passed bill No. 0901 on secondary education in the second reading and as a whole.
The document was backed by 327 lawmakers, three opposed it, 54 abstained, and 16 did not vote, according to an UNIAN correspondent.
The bill guarantees the enrollment of children in primary school without any competition, and the institution should be geographically accessible to children regardless of their social status or place of birth.
Children in long-term inpatient treatment will get the right to receive education in medical institutions. To work on an individual trajectory, the pupil and/or his/her parents will have to apply to the school. An individual curriculum is created for such pupils, written by teachers, parents and approved by the principal.
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A regular annual assessment or a state final certification is carried out to confirm knowledge of subjects that are acquired outside the institution.
The new bill implies three adaptive training cycles – grades 1-2, grades 5-6 and grade 10.
Three models of studying the Ukrainian language in schools are supposed.
The first model is provided for the indigenous peoples of Ukraine who do not live in the linguistic environment of their language and who do not have a state that would protect and develop this language. First of all, these are the Crimean Tatars. For them, the first model includes teaching in the language of the indigenous people from 1 to 11 (12) classes along with a thorough study of the Ukrainian language.
The second model is for schools with instruction in the language of national minorities whose languages belong to the EU languages. Depending on the language group and language environment, the use of this model may be different, but the basics are:
- elementary school: the use of the mother tongue along with the study of the official language;
- grade 5: at least 20% of the annual volume of study time should be taught in Ukrainian with a gradual increase in volume so that in grade 9 to reach at least 40% of subjects that are studied in the official language;
- high school: at least 60% of the annual amount of study time in these institutions should be instructed in the official language.
The third model will work for the rest of the national communities of Ukraine. It concerns national minorities whose language belongs to one of the Ukrainian language families, as well as those who live mainly in the environment of their own speech (Russian language). Primary schools there will also have a minority language along with the study of Ukrainian, and from grade 5 at least 80% of school hours will be instructed in the official language.
As for the work of teachers, during the first year of work, a young teacher will have a pedagogical internship. He/she will receive a mentor who will be obliged to provide advice to a young specialist and help him/her become a successful teacher. Mentors will get an additional 20% bonus.
A teacher can be a person with any education, and not just a pedagogical one.
The document also provides the mandatory transfer of retired teachers to fixed-term contracts should take place before July 1, 2020.
The bill provides that students' parents have the right to attend classes of their children by prior agreement with the principal.