Ukrainian to be implemented as second foreign language in schools in Hessen federal land in Germany

Hessen seeks to become the first federal land of Germany to introduce Ukrainian as a second foreign language in schools. The Ministry of Culture in the capital of Hessen, Wiesbaden, has announced the competition for future experts and teachers.

According to Welt, Armin Schwarz, Minister of Culture of Hessen, called this decision a "clear sign of solidarity" with Ukraine, and Manfred Pentz, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hessen, considers it a contribution into preserving Ukrainian identity and culture.

"Because we do not want to deprive Ukrainian refugees of their roots and cut them off from their Motherland, so instead we build the bridge for their return to Ukraine," Pentz stressed.

Oleksii Makeiev, Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, called the new educational programme the "recognition of the Ukrainian language as an important European language".

Even if separate language programmes exist in schools of other federal lands of Germany for studying Ukrainian, it is not offered as a regular second foreign language.

Earlier it was reported that the children who left Ukraine for the EU as a result of Russian full-scale invasion face significant challenges while studying in schools of the states they’re currently in.

Before that, the Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) advocated for the children of Ukrainian war refugees, living in Estonia, to study in schools in Ukrainian.