Odesa Region | The Borysivka Community Calls for the Preservation of the Lyceum with Romanian-Language Education

The Community of Borisivka Calls for the Preservation of the School’s Romanian-Language Education Status

On 8 August 2026, 93 residents of the village of Borysivka, in the Tatarbunary community, Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi district, Odesa region, signed an appeal calling for the preservation of the status of the Borysivka Lyceum as an educational institution providing full-time instruction in Romanian. According to the signatories, the lyceum is currently the only educational institution in the Odesa region providing full-time instruction in Romanian.

Local Authorities’ Decision on Upper-Secondary Classes

The community’s initiative follows the adoption of Resolution No. 1879-VIII of 10 July 2026 by the Tatarbunary City Council. The document provides for the suspension, starting from 1 September 2026, of enrolment of ninth-grade graduates into the tenth grade at the Borysivka Lyceum.

Subsequently, through Order No. 100-o/d of 6 August 2026, the Education Department of the Tatarbunary City Council instructed educational institutions to take this decision into account when establishing the network of classes for the 2026–2027 school year.

Appeal to the Authorities of Ukraine, Romania and the Republic of Moldova

Following the decision, the parents, students and teaching staff of the lyceum called for intervention by the highest-level authorities. The appeal was addressed to the presidents of Ukraine, Romania and the Republic of Moldova, as well as to Romania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Embassy of Romania in Ukraine and the Consulate General of Romania in Odesa.

The community is seeking support for preserving the institution and finding a solution that would allow education in Romanian to continue.

Another Case Concerning Romanian-Language Education

Representatives of the Romanian community in the Odesa region point out that the situation in Borysivka is not an isolated case. It is the third similar case in 2026, following initiatives concerning the lyceums in Erdek-Burnu (Utkonosivka), Izmail district, and Satul Nou (Novoselivka), Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi district.

These developments come amid strengthening relations between Romania and Ukraine, including following the signing, on 12 March 2026, in Bucharest, of the Declaration on the Strategic Partnership between the two countries.

Right to Education in the Mother Tongue Invoked in the Appeal

The signatories base their request on the provisions of the Constitution of Ukraine, as well as on Ukraine’s international commitments concerning the protection of national minorities and the right to education.

The document refers, among other instruments, to the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education. The appeal also refers to recommendations by the European Commission and the Venice Commission concerning the protection of minority rights in the context of Ukraine’s European integration process.

What the Borysivka Community Is Requesting

The signatories are calling for a review of Resolution No. 1879-VIII and for the Borysivka Lyceum to be removed from the list of institutions for which the suspension of enrolment in the tenth grade is planned.

They are also requesting legislative amendments that would allow for exceptions to the minimum number of students required for rural secondary schools where education is provided in the languages of national minorities.

Borysivka Lyceum, a Distinctive Case in the Odesa Region

Three years ago, the Borysivka Lyceum switched to full-time education in Romanian, becoming the first educational institution in the Odesa region to abandon the use of the term “Moldovan language” in favour of the designation “Romanian language”.

The other 11 schools and lyceums in southern Bessarabia currently have both Romanian-language and Ukrainian-language classes.

The Number of Students Studying in Romanian Is Declining

Data provided by teaching staff indicate a significant decline in the number of students enrolled in Romanian-language classes. During the 2025–2026 school year, the 12 educational institutions had a total of 1,485 students enrolled in such classes, of whom only 90 children attended first grade in eight of the 12 schools.

By comparison, in 1991, the year Ukraine proclaimed its independence, there were 18 schools in the Odesa region providing full-time education in Romanian, with more than 5,000 students.

The situation in Borysivka once again highlights the issue of the sustainability of Romanian-language education and the need for solutions adapted to the specific circumstances of rural communities and national minorities in the Odesa region.