Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin has said he is satisfied with the results of Ukrainian-Hungarian consultations in Zakarpattia region and also stressed the need for work on teacher training and teaching methods.
“We must train teachers. We must change the methods of teaching the Ukrainian language, because when children are brought to school and they immediately start talking about communities instead of playing with them, it does not help them to be Ukrainians […] I am generally happy with today’s consultations,” Klimkin said after Ukrainian-Hungarian consultations in Zakarpattia region on June 22.
He stressed that Ukraine does not mind that representatives of the Hungarian minority preserve their identity during the study.
“We are interested ourselves in our Hungarian citizens remaining 100 percent Hungarians. This is very important to us, to our movement into a united Europe. However, we must help and encourage each of them to have a sufficient level of command of the Ukrainian language,” Klimkin said.
On June 22, the town of Berehove in Zakarpattia region hosted Ukrainian-Hungarian consultations with the Hungarian community regarding the implementation of the law of Ukraine “On Education,” which were attended by Ukrainian and Hungarian Foreign Ministers Pavlo Klimkin and Peter Szijjarto, Ukrainian Education and Science Minister Lilia Hrynevych, as well as Minister of Human Capacities of Hungary Miklos Kasler.
