"Why do we need Russian?" Ukrainians in the UK ask to allow children to learn Ukrainian in schools, the Ministry of Education and Science has sent an official letter

The Government of Ukraine is calling on Britain to introduce Ukrainian language learning into the GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) school curriculum for Ukrainian refugees. About 34,000 children from Ukraine are currently living in Britain due to Russia's full-scale invasion, but they cannot learn their native language.

This is reported by The Guardian. The journalists read a letter that the Ministry of Education of Ukraine wrote to the British Minister of Education Bridget Phillipson. It says that "it is very important to reintroduce the Ukrainian language at GCSE."

GCSE is a certificate of general secondary education in Britain. Students can choose some subjects to study at GCSE, but a number of subjects are compulsory - math, English language and literature, and science.

There is no Ukrainian language among the subjects you can choose, but there is Russian. GCSEs in Ukrainian were abolished in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 1995 due to lack of demand. However, the situation has now changed due to the arrival of thousands of refugees from Ukraine.

"We are deeply concerned that due to the lack of Ukrainian GCSEs, many Ukrainian children are being pressured by school staff to take Russian GCSEs," the Ukrainian Ministry of Education said in a letter.

Thousands of Ukrainians in Britain have signed a petition calling for the urgent introduction of the Ukrainian GCSE. They argue that the language is crucial for Ukraine's independence and identity, as well as for the future of vulnerable young refugees in Britain.

The Department for Education (DfE), which is responsible for developing education policy in Britain, has agreed to meet with education officials from Kyiv to discuss the issue.

"We are working with certificate providers to help Ukrainian students gain a Ukrainian language qualification that can complement their studies in the UK, and we are also offering to meet with the Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science to explore what additional support we can provide," said the DfE spokesperson.

"Many Ukrainian teenagers in Britain are upset that British schools are pushing them to study Russian at GCSE instead and are frustrated that they cannot study their mother tongue," The Guardian reports.

Vitaliy, an 18-year-old from Chernivtsi, said he refused to study Russian at GCSE, as offered by the London school where he studied. "Why do I need to learn Russian? I am Ukrainian and I want to show it. Language is of paramount importance to all of us," he said.

Inna Hryhorovych, head of St Mary's Trust, a network of 13 Ukrainian language schools in the UK, has been calling for the reintroduction of GCSEs since Russia attacked Ukraine in 2014.

"I don't know why it's taking so long. It is very frustrating. What do I tell my students who keep asking when they can take this exam? The fact that Ukrainian children are asked to take the Russian GCSE really irritates some children and causes internal conflicts," she said.

The teacher added that some children will return to Ukraine after the war ends. And in order to enter a higher education institution and build a career in Ukraine, they will need proof of language proficiency.

For her part, 18-year-old Ukrainian Lyubov said that the GCSE program can boost the confidence of Ukrainians in the UK, as they are more likely to succeed in this subject.

"It is difficult for children to adapt to the new education system, so having a subject that you can easily pass will give you confidence," she said.

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