In Zakarpattia, lyceum director fails Ukrainian language fluency exam for the sixth time
16 April 14:58
For the sixth time, the director of a lyceum in the village of Syurte in Zakarpattia, Julius Imre, failed an exam that would confirm his fluency in Ukrainian.
This is evidenced by data from the website of the National Commission for State Language Standards, which was brought to the attention of the local portal “Zakarpattia Community,” "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
There are 6 certificates available on the platform for different years, the last of which is dated February 20, 2025. The document states that Yuliy Imre speaks the state language at the intermediate level of the second degree, that is, he has B2.
The National Commission notes that this is approximately 60-69% of the correct answers in the exam. This level is enough to obtain citizenship.
At the same time, people who need the state language to perform their official duties must obtain a state certificate of fluency, i.e., have a C1 or C2 level.
However, in a commentary to us, the language ombudsman Taras Kremin explained that the certificate is not required during martial law.
The ombudsman also noted that Imre is “not the only one,” referring to the principals of a number of other schools in Zakarpattia. According to him, this is a violation on the part of the local authorities who appoint such principals.
When asked whether the Ombudsman’s Office could influence this issue, Kremin replied: “We did, so he (Yuliy Imre – ed.) ran to the exam. And then something went wrong.”
Online, it can be found that Imre is not only the director of the lyceum, but also a senior lecturer at the Department of Physical and Mathematical Disciplines of the Ukrainian-Hungarian Educational and Scientific Institute of Uzhhorod National University.
In 2023, the Financial Times wrote that previously there were about 150,000 Hungarians, the largest ethnic group in Zakarpattia, but now their number in Ukraine is about 70-80,000.
