Children wait for language competition
Meanwhile, its co-founders are sorting out their relationshipsThe 10th Petro Jacyk International Ukrainian Language Competition will soon begin in Ukraine. It ranks with the most prestigious such competitions, annually attracting more than five million contestants. Its appeal lies in the tangible monetary awards, ranging from 3,000 to 7,000 hryvnias. The founding father is the late Petro Jacyk, a noted Ukrainian Canadian businessman and former president of the League of Ukrainian Philanthropists. The language competition was named after him.
From the outset the Ministry of Education and Science has acted as the competition’s information and organizing partner. Until 2006 the project received support from the Petro Jacyk Education Foundation in Toronto, currently run by his daughter Nadia Jacyk, as CEO and President. In 2006 it was decided that the Ukraine-based partners were strong and experienced enough to take on the full responsibility for the Ukrainian Language Competition and the Petro Jacyk Education Foundation relinquished its financial commitment.
As a result, the president of Ukraine issued three edicts. One established presidential scholarships for the winners (conferred on nine school students, from the third to the ninth grade, worth from 800 to 1,400 hryvnias monthly). The second one provided for partial financing of the language competition by the central budget (this edict still remains to be implemented). The third one involved the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Defense in the project.
This year’s competition will be launched in Mykolaiv (traditionally it starts in a different city every year) and will have four rounds: school – raion – oblast – republic. In addition to schoolchildren, students of vocational training schools, colleges and universities, and people from the Ukrainian diaspora in 27 countries applied for participation. After the finals the award ceremony will be traditionally held on the stage of the Ivan Franko National Academic Drama Theater.
However, a misunderstanding recently arose between two co-founders of the competition — the League of Ukrainian Philanthropists and Ukraine’s Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (Minosvity).
Says the League’s executive director Mykhailo Shlaboshpytsky: “This competition was originally meant as a big social event aimed at enhancing the prestige of the Ukrainian language. The Minosvity, however, is trying to make it another contest on a massive public scope, a kind of Olympic event where the points scored rather than prestige come first.” He adds that last year some members of the jury divulged the tasks of the fourth round before its start, so in the end there were nine winners from Odesa oblast: “This hasn’t happened in the eight years of the competition’s history. Therefore, it is necessary to reinstate the previous jury, headed by Prof. Liubov Matsko of the Drahomanov National Pedagogical University of Kyiv, considering that this jury always showed a principled and unbiased attitude. We insist that this competition must be held under public control, considering that Minosvity bureaucrats have started privatizing it, adding elements of corruption to the procedures. We treasure our reputation!”
During a press conference held to announce the start of the competition and the problems that had came up between two co-founders, Yurii Safonov, head of the Minosvity’s social, humanitarian, art, and business education department, said in reply to a journalist’s question on the situation: “I have been dealing with the problem since September 1. I’ve just started studying the situation. Until then I was unaware of what was happening. Of course, the ministry cannot single-handedly appoint the head of the jury, so we’re collaborating with the League of Ukrainian Philanthropists.”
Apparently there are still ways to settle the conflict. Science and Education Minister Ivan Vakarchuk has yet to meet with the League’s executive director Slaboshpytsky. The Day has learned from a source that a third influential party — someone sincerely concerned about the situation — has stepped in to help arrange their meeting. After all, both sides have almost 10 years of effective cooperation under their belts.
