In Odessa, a university professor was fired for using Russian in lectures

A lecturer at the Odessa National Technological University was dismissed after an inspection revealed the use of Russian during classes and exam papers.

The press service of the Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language reported that the inspection was initiated following a complaint from a student who sent copies of exam papers in Russian. In response to a request from the language ombudsman, the university conducted an internal investigation that confirmed the facts set out in the complaint.

The lecturer explained the use of Russian by “technical problems” with the computer and the presence of old exam papers, noting that he had to use them to avoid disrupting the session. He also claimed that he spoke in Russian because students addressed him in that language.

Following the inspection, a report was drawn up against the lecturer for violating Article 21 of the Language Law, which defines Ukrainian as the language of the educational process. The lecturer has already been dismissed from his position.

The university administration and representatives of the commissioner plan to hold a meeting with students and teaching staff to discuss the rules for observing the language regime at the educational institution.