The ukrainian language

The Ukrainian Language is the second most widely spoken language of 12 surviving members of the Slavic group of the large Indo-European language family. Geographically, it is classified with Russian and Belarussion as an East Slavic language.

Ukrainian is represented basically by a set of dialects, some of which differ significantly from the others. Generally, however, dialectical divisions in Ukrainian are not so strong as they are, for example, in British English or German. Traditionally, scholars have divided Ukrainian dialects into three main groups, northern, southwestern, and southeastern. Standard Ukrainian is a superstructure built on this dialectal foundation. It is the only form of Ukrainian taught in school and used in literature. The standard language is based mainly on the Poltava-Kyiv dialects of the southeastern group.

On 28 October 1989 the Supreme Soviet of the UkSSR passed the law "On languages in the Ukrainian SSR", which gives official status to Ukrainian and provides its introduction in the legislation, ministry, civil organizations and enterprises, the court system, international treaties and agreements, the school system from kindergarten to higher educational institutions, scientific publications and the mass media.

The system of schooling

It is never too late to learn.

Ukrainian proverb

Historians say that literacy existed before Kyiv Rus was baptized but we know too little about that period to form any definite conclusions. In fact, we can trace the schooling tradition to the time of the baptism of Rus, when the Cyrillic alphabet was given to the Slavs by the great enlightener St.Cyril. Christian monasteries and temples became the first venues of literacy. Every such religious community had a school where monks and priests were the first teachers.

In the 16th-18th c. an increasing number of schools were set up by national religious-educational communities — so-called Brotherhoods. The Greek-Slavonic-Latin Collegium, Ukraine's first institution of higher learning, was founded in Ostroh, in 1576.

At the turn of the 18th c. the level of public literacy placed Ukraine ahead of a number of Western and Eastern European countries. Schools were then to be found in most of the villages.

The first universities appeared in Kharkiv (1805), Kyiv (1834) and Odesa (1865). Later, "specialized institutes" were opened for training industrial, railroad engineers, agronomists, physicians and specialists in the other fields.

P resent-day independent Ukraine has got a rather developed system of education, which in many respects answers the standards of the developed countries. General secondary education is free and compulsory. Post-secondary education is acceptable to one and all.

The educational system includes over 23,000 preschool educational establishments (child daycare centers). The basic link of the system is general educational school, of which there are 21,350 now. This school has three stages: primary, basic and senior. Of late there appeared a new type of schools meant for gifted children. There are gymnasiums and lycees, private schools in our country.

An important role in the educational system is played by vocational training schools providing almost 800 qualifications.

Post-secondary education is provided by technical schools and colleges training young specialists and institutions of higher learning: universities, academies, institutes and conservatories, including 14 classical and 45 technological and branch universities, 30 academies and 72 institutes. Ukraine numbers a total of 1,5 million college-and-university students. A multilevel system of training is being introduced based on the junior specialist — B.A. — specialist — M.A. scheme.

The alternative system of higher education is gaining momentum made up of non-government institutions.

Institutions of higher learning enroll some 12,000 foreign students, postgraduates and visiting graduates, of whom 8,000 are on Ukrainian government scholarship.

Ukraine is party to intergovernmental agreements on education with 32 countries and cooperates with more than 50 international educational organizations, programs, and foundations.