Ukrainian language teachers in Crimea wary of persecution - Ombudsperson’s Office

That’s according to Iryna Verihina, representative of Ukraine’s Ombudsperson for the rights of Crimea residents, an Ukrinform correspondent reported from a press conference in Kherson on Wednesday, December 15.

"The Ukrainian language continues to be destroyed across the temporarily occupied peninsula. The number of students who would study Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar is decreasing. We also monitored the situation (…), while it’s still possible to find on the temporarily occupied peninsula a tutor for Ukrainian language and literature classes, it’s very difficult to find a teacher who would teach history of Ukraine,” Verihina said.

The official has noted that families find it costly to hire tutors for children as there are few such specialists. According to Verihina, teachers who previously taught the Ukrainian language and literature are now simply afraid to promote their services, fearing persecution by the occupying "authorities."

As Ukrinform reported, a “BÜLBÜL” (Nightingale) educational multimedia platform for learning the Crimean Tatar language is being launched in Ukraine for children under the age of 5.

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