Newly appointed Ukrainian Language Ombudsman Taras Kremin has announced that his agency will launch a Ukrainian language course at the expense of budget funds.
"We are talking about the mass popularization of such courses. I think that the initiative here could be developed by educational institutions and local authorities," he said in an interview for Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty's Ukrainian service.
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He says state-run universities and colleges, as well as local governments should be interested in creating all the necessary favorable conditions for citizens.
Kremin was appointed commissioner for the protection of the official language. The government voted for the creation of the Secretariat of the Ombudsman for the protection of Ukrainian late in June 2020. Its personnel will be up to 50 people.
Kremin has a diploma in language teaching (Ukrainian and a foreign language). In 2014, he became Mykolaiv region's governor. From 2014 to 2019, he was a Member of Parliament and headed the subcommittee for secondary and general education.
The official says that Ukraine needs a state program to popularize the Ukrainian language.