A teacher from Dnipro has been accused of teaching in Russian
An investigation is underway at a middle school in Dnipro following a complaint from the mother of a first-grader regarding a teacher’s alleged use of Russian during an English class. The woman, who is a member of the military, stated that her 6-year-old daughter was expelled from the classroom after the incident. The school denies any violation of language laws.
This was reported by “Suspilne.”
The incident was reported by Oksana, the mother of six-year-old Bohdana. According to her, on May 25, the English teacher expelled her daughter from the classroom after the girl made a remark to the teacher about speaking Russian during the lesson.
Oksana noted that this is a matter of principle for their family, as she herself is currently serving in the military, and the girl’s father was killed in the war in 2019.
When her daughter told her about the incident, the woman approached the principal and the teacher. But the school denied that Russian had been spoken.
“They’re now saying that my child, of course, made it all up, that none of this could have happened. That they just took her out for a second so she could calm down. And I say, ‘What kind of state was my six-year-old child in that she needed to be calmed down?’” Oksana told Suspilne.
The school’s principal, Yevgen, reported that a commission was immediately formed following the incident. An internal investigation determined that the teacher did not speak Russian, but she did take the students out of the classroom.
“It was confirmed that the child was left alone outside the classroom for up to two minutes, which is a violation of teaching ethics and internal regulations, for which the teacher received a reprimand,” the principal said.
The head of the city’s education department, Olena Yakovenko, noted that the principal contacted them only after journalists arrived. Despite the school commission’s conclusion, the situation will be reviewed further.
The girl’s mother also filed a complaint with Kristina Golovachova, the representative of the Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language. Officials there promised to initiate a state inspection and review the teacher’s work. Violations of language legislation carry a fine of 3,500 hryvnias.
“It is necessary to conduct inspections of this educational institution, launch an internal investigation, and question this teacher’s professional suitability. Yesterday, the mother asked the principal to have the teacher fired. As a lawyer, an educator, and the mother of a child, I believe this teacher should be removed from teaching this class,” emphasized Kristina Golovachova.
“Suspilne” was unable to speak with the teacher herself: the principal said that she is feeling unwell following this incident. According to him, she has been teaching English at the school for over five years and also works as a child psychologist.
Lilia, the chair of the parent committee, reported that no other parents had complained about Russian being spoken during English classes.
The Ministry of Education and Sciencehas noted an increase in complaints regarding the use of Russian in schools.
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Putinistsin Moldova reacted sharply to the decision regarding the Russian language.
