National and ethnic minorities in the educational system on the example of Lithuania and Poland

Every modern democracy should base its actions on respect for human rights, including the protection of minority rights. In other words, there is no democracy without minority. Therefore, it is necessary to shape the system so that the values and democratic rules would be its foundation. Otherwise, the whole structure which the system is based on, may turn out to be flawed, unstable and, in the worst case collapse.

We can infer from historical experience the importance of minority rights for the perspective of further development of democracy in Europe. In the history there has been many situations in which the lack of tolerance to the minority resulted in a tragedy on a massive scale. Especially, based on those experiences it should be stated that the base of a thriving, prosperous society is respecting the law of minorities including rules of equality, justice and tolerance. The promotion of diversity may be a challenge for present democracies, nevertheless has a significant value for long-term persistence.

In the face of tragic events, especially after the post-cold-war era that led to the escalation of ethnic and national conflicts, the international community started to focus more on introducing policies to protect minority rights. Thus, for example the Council of Europe ^[1], the OSCE High Commissioner on the Rights of Minorities ^[2] or the European Union ^[3] have begun to take initiatives aimed at introducing law instruments to guarantee the protection of minority rights as well as monitoring that process in member states. Currently international and national organisations have numerous resources at their disposal, to promote and protect the minorities. Moreover, within the European Union, anti-discrimination directives which aim at focusing the attention on the core of respecting the minority rights as well as including strategies of their integration.

Any democracy, including Lithuania and Poland, has to face the challenges of protecting and tolerating basic national and ethnic minority rights, applying, using a range of alternative approaches and policies based on integration and respect for minority identities.  For this purpose countries implement a range of legal solutions regulating minority rights in the education system, what will be discussed in this article.

1. Minority rights in the education system

Living as a minority and keeping individual and cultural identity, including national tongue can be extremely difficult, challenging, since the influence of assimilation pressure is really strong. Therefore adequate national, state policy taking care of minority’s needs and providing them with the tolerance of basic rights is crucial. An extremely important right, that the state is obliged to take into consideration is the ability of national and ethnic minorities to establish their own educational and cultural institutions, as well as to participate in the settlement of matters pertaining to their cultural identity. In the Preamble of the Framework Convention for the Protection of Minorities was written that considering the turbulent history of Europe, the protection of national minorities is essential for stability, democratic security and peace in Europe. Therefore, the protection of national minorities as well the protection of rights and freedom of people belonging to those groups is an integral part of international protection of human rights and as such falls within the scope of international cooperation. It means that minority rights are an integral part of the human rights protection system as such, they impose an obligation on states parties to the Convention to respect the fundamental rights of national and ethnic minorities. The main aspect of security is providing integrity, preservation and development of minority identity including their culture, tradition and language. The right to education is a basic right of every student. In case of being a minority that basic right shows up in the ability of cultivating the tradition and culture, preserving the feeling of national identity, ethnic, linguistic or religious and hence to keep the individuality. What’s more, considering the fact, that people of different nationalities and cultures meet and socialize  at school, education about minorities is of particular importance since it enables young people to develop tolerance towards something different. Moreover, school plays a significant role in integrating students who are a minority. One of the manifestations of the right to education is the right to preserve and develop one’s language, including the right to the original spelling of the name, as the European Foundation of Human Rights has continually pointed out. Respect for this law is manifested in the prospects of making minority schools in which lessons are led in the minority’s language along with the option of passing the matura exam in the minority language which has a particular meaning because it guarantees equal chances between students. It should be remembered that some students belonging to the minority, especially those who just came to the country, don’t speak the country’s’ native language in a level which would give well results in the test which is very important in later university recruitment. Such situation occurred when Ukrainian students in the previous year took a matura exam in Polish language. Equally important to mention is the right not to be discriminated against on the basis of one’s origin. Everyone has the right to be equally treated by public power as well as by educational institutions regardless of sex, race, colour of the skin, ethnic or social background, genetics, language, religion or beliefs, political views or any other views belonging to a national minority, wealth, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation.

2. Struggles of national and ethnic minorities in access to education

When discussing the issue of minorities in the education system, it is difficult not to mention their daily struggles in access to education. Social ostracism, assimilation pressure, learning in a foreign language are just examples of the daily difficulties faced by minorities in Lithuania or Poland. Therefore, education plays a crucial role in maintaining their identity by, for instance, learning and getting to know their traditions, culture and history, thus ensuring a sense of security and acceptance in their home country. The right to education in a minority language and the right to education as such are inseparable and governed by identical requirements for their realization and enforcement. States-parties of legal acts governing the protection of minority rights are obliged, therefore, to respect the right to education in a minority language and to establish conditions that give students equal opportunities, including guaranteeing equal treatment in the school environment. Indeed, the purpose of education is not only to develop respect for one’s own cultural identity, but also for the language and values of the country in which the child lives, as indicated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Furthermore, education is meant to promote friendship between all nations, racial and religious groups.

In Poland, the right to learn a minority language and history as well as culture is guaranteed by Article 13 of the Act of 7 September 1991 on the educational system, on the basis of which a school organizes the teaching of a national minority language at the request of parents. This provision provides parents with the right to decide on the choice of teaching that enables them to maintain their children’s sense of national, ethnic and linguistic identity. Detailed issues regulating the ways of organizing language teaching have been included in the Regulation of the Minister of National Education of 14 November 2007 on the conditions and manner of performing by public kindergartens, schools and institutions the tasks enabling the maintenance of the sense of national, ethnic and linguistic identity of students belonging to national and ethnic minorities and communities speaking a regional language. It should be pointed out that minorities are an integral part of the Polish educational system. Therefore, in order to guarantee the full realization of the rights to which national or ethnic minorities are entitled, the school must take into consideration their educational needs and take into account the conditions in which students belonging to minorities live and learn. This is particularly important when students do not speak Polish to an extent that allows them to actively participate in lessons, or when they have difficult life experiences, such as refugees. In Poland, teaching n the minority language, as well as history and culture for minority students are provided, among others, to the following minorities: Lithuanian, Belarusian, Lemko, Russian, German, Slovak, Ukrainian, Armenian and Jewish, and to students belonging to a community speaking a regional language, i.e. Kashubian. Unfortunately, not all minorities enjoy their rights for various reasons, such as a country’s population, cultural traditions or lack of appropriately qualified teaching staff. Accordingly, public schools therefore ensure – at the request of parents – that the right to minority education is realized in: kindergartens, schools with a minority language or regional language of instruction, in kindergartens and schools where the minority language or regional language and Polish are two equivalent languages of instruction, in schools with additional instruction in the minority language or regional language or in inter-school teams teaching the minority language or regional language. In addition, students belonging to minorities have the right to take the Matura exam in the national language, including Belarusian, Ukrainian or Lithuanian. It should be emphasized that the written exam in the national language for secondary school graduates belonging to minorities at primary level is obligatory.

Education of all national minorities in Lithuania is controlled by laws, regulations and other documents. The protection of people belonging to national minorities, as an integral part of the protection of human rights, is guaranteed by the basic law – the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania. According to Article 29, ‘All persons shall be equal before the law, courts, and other state institutions and officials. Human rights may not be restricted; no one may be granted any privileges on the grounds of gender, race, nationality, language, origin, social status, belief, convictions, or views.’ In turn, Article 37 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania states that ‘citizens belonging to ethnic communities shall have the right to foster their language, culture, and customs.’ Furthermore, Article 45 of the Constitution indicates that ‘ethnic communities of citizens shall independently manage the affairs of their ethnic culture, education, charity, and mutual assistance. Ethnic communities shall be provided support by the State.’ In Lithuania, as in Poland, education in the national minority language is possible at all levels of education – from kindergarten to higher education. The Law on Education of the Republic of Lithuania indicates that, at the request of the community, the local government organizes teaching in the national minority language and teaching in the minority language, both in comprehensive and non-formal schools. National minorities also have the right to establish Saturday and Sunday minority schools. Currently, a major problem is that the Law on National Minorities, which shaped the policy towards national minorities, has not been in force since 2010. The EFHR has repeatedly spoken out on this issue, pointing to the need for a law that would guarantee the protection of the rights of national and ethnic minorities under international obligations.

Finally, it should be mentioned that Lithuania, like Poland, is a relatively culturally homogeneous country. However, this situation has been changing in recent years as a result of increasing numbers of migrants searching for a better life in Europe, as well as refugees fleeing war and seeking a place of refuge outside their country. This poses enormous challenges for Europe, including Lithuania and Poland, in ensuring the guarantee of fundamental rights, including the right to education, guaranteed by international human rights acts. The Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, for example, has been ratified by both Lithuania and Poland, and both countries are therefore obliged to respect the rights and obligations arising from it. It is obvious that this task is extremely difficult and involves a huge responsibility for the lives of others. Nevertheless, as mentioned, it is crucial to ensure the stability of the democratic system as such. On the other hand, when analysing the increasing xenophobic attitudes towards the representatives of national and ethnic minorities, it has to be said that anti-discrimination policy and education about these minorities is essential. In this respect, a huge role is played by the state, as well as local government authorities, which should act in defense of minorities, providing them with favorable living conditions, including through the possibility to cultivate their traditions and culture, and react to any acts of hate, often resulting from misunderstanding or fear of others. After all, the more knowledge, the less fear, and the less fear, the greater the chance for compassion, understanding, and cooperation. Teachers must therefore provide knowledge, educate, talk to students in a way that develops empathy, tolerance and respect for others.

Prepared by Aleksandra Jucha as part of the internship program at the European Foundation of Human Rights (EFHR)

Translated by Aleksandra Wojciul 

Bibliography:

1. https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/democracy-for-all-minority-rights-and-democratisation/
2. https://www.efhr.eu/ulotki_efhr/jezykowa_PL.pdf
3. https://www.sejm.gov.pl/sejm7.nsf/InterpelacjaTresc.xsp?key=716EFF94
4. https://www.gazetaprawna.pl/wiadomosci/artykuly/1045172,na-maturze-jezyki-mniejszosci-narodowych.html
5. http://mniejszosci.narodowe.mswia.gov.pl/mne/prawo/konwencja-ramowa-rady/konwencja-ramowa-rady/6769,Raport-wyjasniajacy-do-Konwencji-ramowej-Rady-Europy-o-ochronie-mniejszosci-naro.html

^[1] The Council of Europe has examined the situation of national minorities on a number of occasions over a period of more than forty years. In its very first year of existence (1949), the Parliamentary Assembly recognised, in a report of its Committee on Legal and Administrative Questions, the importance of “the problem of wider protection of the rights of national minorities”. In 1961, the Assembly recommended the inclusion of an article in a second additional protocol to guarantee to national minorities certain rights not covered by the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The latter simply refers to “association with a national minority” in the non-discrimination clause provided for in Article 14. Recommendation 285 (1961) proposed the following wording for the draft article on the protection of national minorities: “Persons belonging to a national minority shall not be denied the right, in community with the other members of their group, and as far as compatible with public order, to enjoy their own culture, to use their own language, to establish their schools and receive teaching in the language of their choice or to profess and practise their own religion.”

^[2] The OSCE established the High Commissioner on National Minorities to strengthen its early warning and conflict prevention capabilities. The High Commissioner is involved at the earliest possible stage in participating States where inter-ethnic tensions could lead to conflict.

^[3] Council Directive 2000/43/EC of 29 June 2000 implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin. Council Framework Decision 2008/913/JHA of 28 November 2008 on combating certain forms and expressions of racism and xenophobia by means of criminal law.