Teachers in the occupied territories that the Russians control may lose jobs and risk other revenge if they do not declare a willingness to obey the Russians. “The curriculum in mathematics, physics, biology and chemistry in Russia does not carry propaganda, so they remain as they are, at least for now”
Russia requires Ukrainian teachers in the Occupied Territories to sign a document within weeks confirming their willingness to move on to teach the Russian school curriculum. The move puts many of them in a difficult position. If they do not sign, they will lose their jobs and be in danger of revenge by the Russian forces. If signed, there is a risk of accusations by the Ukrainian authorities, who see the teaching of the Russian curriculum as a form of cooperation with the enemy.
According to the Guardian, teachers in the Russian-occupied parts of southeastern Ukraine, whose identities cannot be revealed, for safety reasons, said that around mid-June the newly appointed local authorities told them they had until July 21 to sign a document confirming their willingness to accept the curriculum In the Russian school or resign, when many of them are threatened with eviction from their homes.
Russian Education Minister Sergei Kravtsov announced in June that with the start of the new school year in September, all schools in the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine are supposed to work according to Russian standards. “We will do our best to open schools on September 1 so that they are as ready as possible to function according to Russian standards,” said Kravtsov. “Integration will take place. We are already taking a few steps in this direction, training teachers and providing textbooks.”
One teacher living in a village in the occupied territory of Kharkov said: “Currently, only history, geography and language teachers, and it is only in primary schools, are the ones who were asked to sign the document, the mathematics, physics, biology and chemistry curriculum in Russia does not carry propaganda, so they remain like That they are, at least for now, “he added.
In Russian teaching, works by most Ukrainian writers may disappear, while the curriculum in Russian history has become more political in recent years, especially on the Russian narrative of Soviet victory in World War II, and without much room for critical thinking about Soviet repression or Russia’s imperial past.
The teachers who do sign up risk a lawsuit for helping the enemy if the occupied territories return to Ukrainian control. The Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science sees this provision as a form of cooperation, and Ukraine’s criminal law was recently amended by a sentence of up to three years’ imprisonment for “propaganda in educational institutions aimed at aiding the Russian army.”
But many believe that plaintiffs should be forgiving in some cases. “We must make a very clear distinction whether the person was forced to work under pressure or even life-threatening, or whether he cooperated voluntarily, or whether it was at all his initiative to cooperate,” Ukraine’s Minister of Education Sergei Gorbachev told the Guardian.
“We have a large amount of inquiries from teachers in the occupied territories,” Gorbachev said. “They are threatened with eviction from their homes, threatened with arrest and persecution. For example, today I learned that the Russians collect data on people whether they cooperate or not cooperate with the occupiers, if not, they may lose their place of residence, and may be forced to leave.”