Bilingual Education Model for the Minorities: Always the Best Solution?

Abstract

Abstract. The Law of Ukraine “On Education” introduces bilingual education for representatives of national minorities. It seems that the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine managed to cut the Gordian knot of minority education: the Ukrainian Government found the educational model which simultaneously ensures the preservation of ethno-cultural identity and facilitates social integration. According to the conclusion of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, by introducing bilingual education, it is possible to solve the education problems of Ukraine’s minorities. However, our views are rooted in our research, which we have been conducting for about twenty years, investigating the Transcarpathian Hungarian educational system according to various criteria. In our study, we explain that the question of minority education is impossible to be removed from the complex context in which it operates.