Should the role of English be more important in Ukrainian educational institutions?

"People's knowledge of English is the key to the independence of Ukraine in the context of a hybrid war with Russia." - Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine.

Danilov says, that for the last 6-7 years the Russian Federation has been using Western mass media as a weapon against Ukraine. Russian media have been spreading propaganda through manipulation and inaccurate translations of various tabloids. 

This is why he stresses the importance of the active dissemination of English in Ukraine. 

"I can't stress this enough: young people's knowledge of English is the key to our country's independence. English should be used from kindergarten. It does not need to be taught, it needs to be used. The fact is that we learn a lot of English, but very few people know and use it. When we can adjust the society to English-language publications, then the issue of the linguistic war waged by the Russian Federation will gradually disappear." - Oleksiy Danilov

We remind you, that the Standard Educational Program recently approved by the Ministry of Education for grades 5-9 of general secondary education institutions provides for the study of a foreign language 3.5 hours per week. Traditionally, this foreign language is English.

An online poll was also posted on the website, asking: Should the role of the English language be more important in Ukrainian educational institutions? 63% of respondents answered positively, 37% negatively.