In the Mykolaiv region, a Ukrainian language teacher has been nominated for a Verkhovna Rada award

The Standing Committee on Science and Education of the Mykolaiv Regional Council endorsed the nominations of two educators to participate in the selection process for the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine’s annual Vasyl Sukhomlynsky Award.

The deputies adopted the corresponding decision during a meeting of the relevant committee.

According to Alla Velikhovska, head of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration’s Department of Education and Science, 20 candidates submitted applications for the competition this year: 15 from general secondary education institutions and five from preschool education institutions. Based on the selection results, the committee identified two candidates for further nomination for the state award.

Among teachers from general secondary education institutions, the committee recommended Svitlana Mironiuk. According to Alla Velikhovska, the Ukrainian language and literature teacher is one of the region’s most renowned educators; she has received awards from the President of Ukraine and the Ministry of Education and Science, and has many years of experience working with young teachers. Her students have repeatedly won academic competitions and various contests.

In the preschool education category, the commission endorsed the candidacy of Larysa Semenyuk, a teacher at the preschool division of the Halahanivska Gymnasium under the Snigurivka City Council. She is a winner and laureate of a number of professional competitions and conducts methodological work not only in the Mykolaiv region but also beyond its borders.

The commission members unanimously supported both candidates and recommended that the matter be submitted for consideration at an extraordinary session of the Mykolaiv Regional Council.

During the discussion, the deputies also noted that not all communities in the region are actively nominating educators to participate in the competition. In this regard, the commission plans to appeal to the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration with a request to intensify outreach efforts among local communities regarding educators’ participation in such competitions and awards.

Recently, Ukraine’s Education Ombudsman Nadiya Leshchyk stated that there may have been a violation of the rights of employees at educational institutions in Pervomaisk, Mykolaiv Oblast. According to her, teachers and other education sector employees were forcibly conscripted into community improvement activities.

The Vasyl Sukhomlynsky Award of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is the highest state award for educators for outstanding achievements in teaching, raising children, and implementing innovative educational technologies. Each year, 54 such awards are presented, and the monetary prize amounts to 60 times the subsistence minimum, which currently equals approximately 190,000 UAH.

Андрій Колісніченко