Andrii Butenko briefed Poland’s Barbara Nowacka on the amendments during her two-day visit on October 26-27. The two ministers also discussed how to keep schools running during the war and the strain it places on pupils and teachers.
Nowacka stressed the need to support Polish education in Ukraine, the ministry said. It added that the Ukrainian side had declared its readiness to act to fully respect Polish history, culture and tradition in education, an issue given particular attention during the visit.
The ministers visited two Polish-language high schools in Lviv and laid wreaths at the Cemetery of the Defenders of Lwów in tribute to Polish soldiers killed fighting for the city and Galicia in 1918-1920.
On Tuesday, they attended a congress of Polish-language teachers from across Ukraine, where Nowacka praised teachers for continuing to teach Polish and nurture Polish cultural heritage despite the war. Medals for services to education were also presented.
“It is an opportunity to talk about education, exchange experiences, learn about new teaching methods and seek inspiration useful in everyday work with pupils”, the ministry said of the congress in a statement.
Maksym Kozytskyi, head of the Lviv regional military administration, said on Facebook that Ukraine and Poland share a history that includes “difficult and tragic chapters”.
“It is important to speak about them with respect for the memory of the victims, while at the same time strengthening the current partnership between our states”, he wrote.
Kozytskyi said Butenko used a visit to the Maria Konopnicka high school, where classes are taught in Polish, to propose that Poland expand opportunities to study Ukrainian as a second foreign language in its schools.
“More than 200,000 Ukrainian children are currently studying in them. It is important that they can maintain a bond with their native language and culture”, he said.
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Source: PAP