Hungary opens first state bilingual school for Ukrainian children
Illustrative photo (Getty Images)
The first public Ukrainian-Hungarian bilingual school for children from Ukraine was opened in Budapest, according to the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
As a result of the agreements reached by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán during the Hungarian leader's visit to Kyiv in July this year, the first state bilingual secondary school and gymnasium for Ukrainian children was opened in Budapest. The school started working today, August 31.
During his talks in Kyiv, Zelenskyy emphasized the importance of creating educational institutions for Ukrainian children abroad and received assurances from the Hungarian side that they would support this project.
Long-term preparatory work for the opening of the school was carried out by the House of Ukrainian Traditions (Hungary), which took responsibility for the management of the educational institution.
The educational process will be conducted in Ukrainian from grades 1 to 12, and the curriculum will include the study of Hungarian and English as foreign languages. The school will be financed from the Hungarian state budget.
“The opening of this school is an important step towards the development of the Ukrainian global community. Ensuring access to education in the mother tongue is a priority for President Zelenskyy and an important part of the new comprehensive policy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Ukrainians abroad. The school in Budapest will not only contribute to the preservation of Ukrainian identity but will also help our children adapt to a foreign environment without losing their cultural roots,” said Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
He also expressed gratitude to the Hungarian side for its assistance in this important matter.
The opening of the school in Budapest was attended by the head of the Zakarpattia Regional Military Administration Viktor Mykyta, the head of the Subcommittee on Higher Education of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Education, Science and Innovation Yulia Hryshyna, and the Ambassador of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine for Ukrainians worldwide Mariana Betza.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán visited Ukraine for the first time in a long time on July 2. He met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and made a number of statements.
Read more about Orbán's visit to Kyiv in RBC-Ukraine's article.
